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HON. j. B. C. LUCAS. 






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LETTERS 



OF 



HON. T. B. C. LUCAS 



FROM 1815 TO 1836. 



COMPILED AND PUBLISHKD HV [IIS GRANDSON, 

JOHN B. C. LUCAS, 



St. Louis, Mo. 
1905. 









ie'05 



Letters of Hon. J. B. C. Lucas from 1 815 to 1836. 



St. Louis, Augt. 10th, 1817. 
Wm. Liu-as, 

Dear ^^'lll.: — Your two letters to me are of the 7th 
of June aud 4th of July last. My two last to you are 
of the 'M)th of June, aud r)th of July, the last of which 
has been i)nt in the hands of Mr. Von Pliul with |50.00 
for you. 1 purpoiso to send you soon, 150.00 more. At 
the expiration of the present session I advise you to 
go to the College of Washington and remain there dur- 
ing the winter session. These are to be the last six 
months of your college study. As your mind becomes 
more strong and mature, these remaining six months 
ought to be more benetieiatly employed than ever. Let 
me know what sum is necessary for mathematical iu- 
strunuMits. 

That yonr IkmHIi be not materially impaired by close 
application 1 think it to be necessary to exercise your 
body by occasional hunting. You will thereby combine 
strength with agility and adroitness. A fowling piece 
would be preferable to shoot flying and running. T will 
allow you about eighteen dollais for a gun and a half of 
a dollar per week for load and powder. You must prom- 
ise me to keej) your gun clean and in good order, and 
not depart fidui that way of spending your leisure hours, 
which must be done not less than once a week, 

T wish that in your next you be explicit as to your 
choice of a ])rofessiou. If you incline to the profession 
of the law you will certainly go in the spring to Litch- 



field to attend the lectures of Reeves during one year, 
in the meantime 1 must observe you that lawyers are 
flocking here from all parts. Tlie profession here will 
soon be overstocked. 

Your brother Charles holds cut well, and by his prac- 
tice and speculation in lands, is getting rich fast. The 
numbei- '»f his enemies is daily increa.^ing. 

I remember to have mentioned you that probably on 
his return from the United States he would be engaged 
in most serious dilticulties. You appeared to me much 
concerned and expressed a wish to be here present to 
see or perhaps to aid or a.ssif^t. I showed him vour 
letter because your sentiments bespoke, in my opinion, 
your hearty concern for him. He took it amiss not 
knowing probably that I had given occasion to these 
by my previous commnuications to you of what I ex- 
pected would take place. It appears that he has cen- 
sured you judging from one of your letters to him which 
he has shown me. I wish you to believe that I never 
intended the effect which has been produced in giving 
him to read the letter Avhich you wrote me. I thought 
that instead of censure he would have given you credit. 
but be it as it may, he is certainly your most ardent 
friend, and as to me 1 shall in future keep to myself 
your communications. I repeat to you again that 
Cliarles is perha])s more critically situated than before. 

If you should prefer to learn brewing beer or stilling 
in the best manner, such ms cordials and gin, grain 
being abundant here and more so in time to come, 
this, together with the easy and pi-omi)t means of ex- 
portation, grcnt business might be done here. I am 
informed that sucli stilling is carried to great perfec- 
tion in New York and to great advantage. I wouhl 
have you to learn this business either at New York or 



Pliilndclphia. I ("oiild jilTdVcl von a coiivciiiciit site and 
some (•a[)ilal. K(l\vai<l I Iciiiitslcajl died last iiij;!it at'lcr 
a coinplaint (d' a few hours of a violent headache. 

J. Scotl has a great majority so far, on Eawton for 
(hde^ate lo ("oninTess. (Jreat exeevsses have been eoiii- 
iiiilted here diirini; the eh'ction and sinee. 

1 have received a, letter froiii the I*rineipal of the 
collejj;e of 8t. Thomas. Upon the whole, James has 
greatly gained theie. He is to come back in October. 
We will have him in a state of probation during this 
winter to ascertain his disposition. Bignon Gratiot is 
arrived from that i)lace. Gustave Soulard is on bis 
way returning. Bignon saj's that James learns with 
much facility; that he is active and stndious; always 
ardent; that he is much altered for the better. 

^^'e will keep him very busy this winter and if he 
deserves to be trusted, 1 vshall send him in the spring 
to a college in New England. 

Adieu, 

J. B. C. L. 



St. Louis, Augt. 18, 1817. 
Wu\. Lucas, 

My dear son: — Your letter of the L'lM July has come 
to hand by last mail. My last to you is of 10th in- 
stant. I hope that by this time you have recovered 
youi- health. I am astonished at the number of deaths 
during so ishort a time in or about your village. 1 re- 
peat to you that 1 am perfectly agreed at your leaving 
Canonsburgh to continue your studies at Washington 
during next session. I recommend you earnestly to 
study during the whole time, Chemistry and ^Lithemat- 
ics. I expect from you a compliance with my diiections 



and frankness and, sinceritj in your communications 
tliat 3'ou may receive an immediate benefit from my 
experience and affection. 

I here enclose fifty dollars, Pittsburj>h Bank. I 
shall send you fifty more soon. You will procure your- 
self without delay, the mathematical instruments that 
are necessary and a ^ood fowling piece. As I, told you 
before the gun must be a great exerciwe will enable you 
to bear better with stillness and close application. We 
are here in a daily expectation of the arrival of a 
Koman Catholic Bishop and several priests. It is un- 
certain what part of the country the Bishop will select 
for his residence. He is a man of distinguished talents 
and pei'soual accomplishments. 

Charles has fought a duel on the 12th inst. early 
in the morning with Colonel Benton, a gentleman of 
the bar. Charles was wounded, a bullet entered his 
neck near the throat on the left side of it and came 
out about an inch and a half distant from the place 
it entered in a declining direction. He lost good yield 
of blood; almoist fainted. He became dim for a few 
minutes and although he had declared that he was not 
satisfied, and directed that his pistol be loaded again, 
he was disabled from continuing the figlil. 

I was then :it my farm and came late in the evening 
of same day. On my return I heard of the affair; that 
he was in bed at Mr. Easton's and was anxious to see 
me. I went immediately and found him in excellent 
spirits but very hoaise. I entertained serious appre- 
hensions of the wind pipe or other muscles being ma- 
terially impaired, however, I found his voice in the next 
morning as it ought to be. The doctors pronounced 
that the state of his blood was good. He is recovering 
very fast. He could not have a more narrow escape. 



6 



He just now has come to our liouse for the first time. 
ITe lias hit his adversary's leg a little below the knee, 
near the center of the bone. It has not cut the cloth 
of his pant ;i loons, it has only produced the effect of a 
bruise by raising a blister of blood. The powder must 
have been weak. Benton has been confined two or 
three days and when he went out first, he has, though 
involuntarily, let out some symptoms of momentary 
lameness. 

When you write to Charles do as if you knew noth- 
ing of these. You must have seen Mr. Von Phul about 



the 1st of Augt. 



Adieu, 

J. B. C. L. 



St. Louis, 29th Sept., 1817. 
Wm. Lucas, 

M}'^ dear son: — We have met with an irreparable loss. 
Your brother Charles is no more. He fell last Satur- 
day early in the morning, in a single combat with his 
former antagonist, Col. Benton, His enemies have at 
last succeeded to have him killed, but none of them 
could subdue him. 

He lo^ ed you as much as I myself do, and his exist- 
ence was more necessary to you than mine. His irre- 
proachable character, his sterling worth, the fair pros- 
pects that his eminent qualities would be rewarded and 
public esteem made him the mark of envy. 

You and James have been the particular objects of 
his last will. He has directed a certain part of his 
property to be made productive, and the proceeds to 
be applied to the education of you and James until 1824, 



Avht'D I lie whole is to bo divided ainon<>st his heirs at 
law. 

1 am jioiiiii to write to John C<»ltou Smith, former 
governor of Connect ieut for the purpose of ascertaining 
when the course of lectures on law commences at Litch- 
field, that I may give you information thereof, leaving 
to you to take such a determination as you may think 
best. 

I have sent money to James to enable him to come 
back home. I expect to see him in the course of two 
Aveeks. Several of biis schoolmates have returned here. 
All of them make a very favorable re])ort of him. 

I here enclose fifty dollars in four bank notes. You 
have received before this lime my hlter to you of the 
18th ultimo, enclosing fifty d(dlars. 

ilr. Tharp has shot dead Wm. Smith, «S:c. 

1 have called upon all the fortitude I may possess to 
bear my misfortune. Do the same. 1 s(dace myself 
with the hope that you will continue to pursue a correct 
conduct and that you will be an example to James who 
I ho])e iis in a fair way of reform. We will draw more 
closely, if possible, the ties that unite us. Adrian is 
•much depressed. 



I love you dearly. 



J. B. C. L. 



St. Louis, October 2d, 1817. 
Joshua Barton, 

Sir: — As there remains nothing of my late son Charles 
Lucas but his repulation, and as it is my sacred duty to 
defend and protect it, I beg leave to ai)ply to you for 
information on some particulars relating to his differ- 
ences with Mr. Benton. 



IsL IMeasc to slate what day you did uotify Mr. 
LaAvlcss that Charles LiicavS was sufficiently recovered 
of his Wdiiiid f<» meet Col. IJeiitoii, and what time of the 
day this notihcation was ^iven. State fully what 3'ou 
said on that subject, hew direct and explicit you were. 
Be pleased to relate whether Charles appeared cool and 
collected when he took his «;round at the last interview 
with I>entou; if both tired at the same time, or if not, 
who tired the soonest. What were the words Mv. Benton 
addressed Charh's after he fell? What was said or re- 
l)lied by Charleis to Benton? What wiM-e the last words 
Charles uttered? 

N. B. — Be pleased to i;ive me a coj)y of the notes of 
Charles to Benton and this or his last to Charles. 

J. B. C. L. 



St. Louis, October 4th, 1817. 
Doctor Quarles, 

Sir: — As there remains nothini' of my late son Charles 
Lucas but hiis reputation and as every particular relat- 
in«»' to it is of the Jii^hest concern to me, I beg leave to 
put a few questions to which I hope you will be 
pleased to answer as far as you know. 

Did Charles a]>i)ear cool and collected when he took 
his i»round «tr <listance at his first interview with Col. 
Benton? Was he wounded? Be pleaised to describe 
the wound he received, the distance there was between 
the place the bullet entered and the place it came out? 

Was it your opinion tiiat the wound disabled Charles 
to continue the tiuht to an e<|unl advantaiie? 

L)id Cliarles appear co(d and coUected when he took 
his ground or distance at bis last interview with Mr. 
Benton? 

9 



Did both firo at tlio same Hnie and if not, who fired 
first? 

What were the words whieh Mr. Kenton addressed 
Charles Lncas after he fell? Wliat was said or replied 
by Charls Lucas to Benton? What were the hist words 
Charles Lucas uttered? 

J. B. C. L. 



St. Loui.s, April 28th, 1817. 
Wm. Lucas, 

Your letter of the 24th March has come to hand by 
last mail. -My last to you before this is of the tenth 
of March. I had not expected that you would quit 
reading Latin so abruptly, at any rate it seems to me 
you ought to have continued until the end of this session. 
I full.y approve your design to read some Latin' in 
your room, for otherwise what little you know might 
soon be forgotten. This design ought to be imme- 
diately reduced into practice. You ought also com- 
bine the study of Belles Letters such as rhetoric, &c. 
You ought to read some treatise of logic, ethics, &c., 
and you ought to continue the study of mathematics as 
long as you remain in college. If you need mathemati- 
cal instruments, let ine know it and state what they 
may cost. You ought to remain at the college not less 
than one year from the end of this winter's session. I 
am more and more astonished at not receiving the state- 
ment of your expenditures sincc^ your last account 
of the 20th of June, 181(5. You cannot have forgotten 
that I required of you such a statement every six 
mouths. The one contained in your last letter is not 
entire. It includes none of the items concerning James, 

10 



nor is it comprohensive enough with respoct to you. ! 
here enclose fifty dollars iu four notes, viz: 

I am under the disai»Teeal)le neeessity to observe that 
3'our last letter is written badly and hastily, that you 
istill continue to be delicicnt in spellinj;. You write 
weak when you ou^ht to write week, and knead what 
ou<iht t(» be need. Such mistspelliu"' is not pardonablr- 
iu any nuiu, much less in a scholar. I have seen the 
youuj^cst son of Mr. ]^ai)tist Vallee who is lately re- 
turned from St. Thomas College. He gives the most 
favorable account of James under every respect. 
Gustave Soulard writes to his father from the «ame 
college that James is now very studious, religious and 
good natured. For the purpose of assiisting you in the 
choice of a profession I shall present various views to 
you in my next. 

Adieu, 

J. B. C. L. 

Charles is arrivc^d here safe. He stayed only two 
days with us. Went to attend court, Howard County, 
Boons Lick. He is now attending the court of St. 
Charles. Will be here in a few days. John Scott seems 
to have sunk in the public estimation. The prospects 
of Easton as candidate are bettering, I was tlie other 
day at Cape (lirardeau. Charles stands very fair with 
the leading characters of that county. Scott is worsted 
there. Charles has the reputation of having been a 
good representative. 



St. L(mis, May 19, 1817. 
W^m. Lucas, 

Your letter of April 10th enclosing statement of 
exi)enditures and of the IStli Ai)ril have been received. 
I have enclosed in my last to you of the 28th of April, 



11 



iilto. fifty dollars in bank notes. 1 iiere enclose fifty 
dollars more in three Kentucky bank notes. I am 
much in haste. I defer again writin«^ on details. If 
Mr. Wilie leaves your colleoe and is not replaced by a 
person well qualified, probably it will be proper for 
you to go and continue your studies at Washington. 

Adieu, 

J. B. C. L. 



St. l.ouis. May 22d, 1817. 
James Lucas, 

James I have received your letter of the 24th <if 
March. 1 learn with much pleasure that you have ob- 
tained the premium in geography. The comparatively 
short time you had to prepare yourself for the com- 
petition ought to excite 3»tu nioie and more to every 
possible exertion. The study of Latin and (ireek is 
all important to you. You mention me that 30U hope 
to be ready to go home in eighteen months, less if pos- 
sible, for you are coming on fasten' and faster. I wish 
you may ])ersevere in your resolution. In case you do, 
I confidentl}' hope that .)T)u will succeed, and in leaving 
then the college with credit yciu will be welcome 
amongst us. Your age and my means will enable you 
to receive an education perhaps more complete than 
your brothers. I hope you will avail yourself of the 
opportunity especially if you \y\]\ apply yourself to 
any of the learned pro fessio us. If you wish to be a 
farmer, perhaps y<ui may do with a mind less culti- 
vated and make uj) the deficiency by forming your 
habits early to that pursuit. 

1 recommend you to ])ursue undeviatingly the course 
of forbearance and good nature towards your school- 
mates, obedience and respect to your teachers. They 

12 



are the most useful meu iu society and the least re- 
wariled. Souk of tlicui i2,ro\v pci'vish, some pedantic, 
all their lilV olTeis all the difticultics of a he.niuuiu"^. 
They are in |i( ipclual contact Avilli I he most unreason- 
able part of I he human s|M-cies. If tlicy derive any 
comforts it is liil from very few students, iud(M'd, who 
stand promiu<'Ut in rcllcction, liberality and senti- 
nu^nts of platitude. I slionhl be mucli iiratili«'d in 
hearin.u tiiat yon stand anioniiist these few. It would 
be a good omen and would <|nalify to go tiirough life 
with ease and satisfaction. Many students believe 
that when tiicy have been able to find out the weak 
side of a teacher they are absolved from all obliga- 
tion of olxMlience even of deference. What a paradox! 
Tiiis discovery (d'ten flatters the vanity of the student. 
This vanity leads liim in the grossest fault, to-wit: 
jealousy, insults, r<>crimi nation and a perfect cessation 
of usefulness on tlu^ part of the teacher. 

i»(dieving that yiui are Oecoming worthy of my at- 
tention, I ]>ropose to have the Gazette of this place 
forwarfh'd to you her* after. Mr. Le Due will hand 
you this letter, and if t\>und necessary will give you 
some pecuniary relief. 

I have written to ]Mv ssrs. Flaget and Wilson, but 
have received no answ« r from them. 

All is well at houu*. 

Adieu, 

J. B. C. L. 



St. Louis, June 2r)th, 1817. 
James Lucas, 

• lames. I have written to yon by ^Ir. Le Due who is 
to accompany young <'adei Chouteau iu a journey in- 
ten<led for the recovery of his health. The letter is 

13 



dated May 22d, 1817. He has it in his hand this good 
while. His departure has been dehiyed unexpectedly. 
I believe he will leave this place in three or four days. 

This present letter will be handed you by a Mr. Faw- 
ler, a neij^hbor of ours at Cold Water. 

1 have ])ut in his keeping', ten dollars which he will 
deliver you. 1 h()i)e you will ninki^ a good use of it. 

AVrite to nie as soon as possible. 

Adieu. All is well. 

J. B. C. L. 



St. Louis, June 30th, 1817. 
Wm. Lucas, 

Dear Son: — The last lettci- which I have received 
from you is of the 12th ulto. I enclosed to you in my 
letter of the 28th April, fifty dollars and fifty dollars 
more in my letter of the IDth of May. 1 shall wait for 
a letter from yoii acknowh'dging the receipt of these 
before I send you any more money. If you are with- 
out a President nearly as able as Mr. Wilie, perhaps 
it will be better for you to go to the College of Wash- 
ington. In this case I recommend you earnestly to 
be better gnardcil against dissipation and any o])por- 
tunities of vices and bad liabits. As to your ceasing 
to read Latin, in Ihis you have taken your own course. 
You might liave consulte<l me if you had wished. To 
meet your desire to know what ground you stand upon, 
I must inform you that I lea>'e it to you to make choice 
of such profession as you may think best. 

From what Charles tells me il a]»pears that you in- 
cline for the i)rofession of the law. If so, you must 
particularly apply to the study of Belles Letters, with- 
out, however, giving up natural philosophy and the 

U 



repetition of your Latin books. Your taste must be 
formed on the best models. Take always into view 
that the object of art is to present the powers and 
eharms of njiture. Bombast, affectation, swell, re- 
dundancy of words, «S:c., are incompatibh^ with it. At 
all events 1 lliiiik yoii (tui;lil t«» remain at collef>e until 
the end (d the next winter session. After these, if your 
inclination remain the same, you will <;() to Connecti- 
cut to attend, duriui*- one year, the lectures of Judge 
Reeves on Law. \\'liat you Avill learn there will be 
elementary and systeiiialic, l>y means of r<*petitions 
and rearji'uments with numerous students whom you 
will meet, your ideas niav be <mlarged, rectified, and 
more deei)ly impressed, whilst at the same time you 
will familiarize yourself uith law language and be- 
come prepared for speaking at the bar. You will then 
come back to St. Louis where j'ou may continue your 
reading under youi- brother Charles and at the same 
time be of some use to him in his office, at least, during 
his absence. 

I expect you will in your next be explicit on this 
subject. 

I love you. 

Adieu, 

J. B. C. L. 



St. Louis, July 5th, 1817. 
Wm. Lucas, 

(My letter contains nothing else but advice that he 
will receive by the hands (d" Mr. Yon Thul, 150, or 
lifty dollars delivered by me this day to Mr. Von Phul 
together with the letter above dated.) 

15 



St. Louis, September 13th, 1817. 
James Lucas, 

(Letter inrludinjn;- one buudred dollars St, Louis Bank 
notes, aurliorizino him to buy horse, saddle, bridle, the 
whole not exceeding sixty-five dollars. Consult General 
Walton for choice of a horse, Keturn home as soon as 
l)ossible. B(^ careful of his horse on his journey. Bring 
a bill of what is due to collco(. or Principal cm liis ac- 
count. Take the road of >^liawney Town.) 



St. Louis, October 12th, 1817. 
Wm. Lucas, 

My dear son: — James arrivc^d t \u- day before yesterday 
in good healih. Our forloin situation) rendered him 
still more acceptable. In addition to the favorable 
account which wc had of liim tlirougli various cliannels, 
I have the satisfaction to find him generally much im- 
proved. Without making any ])ara(I(^ or showing the 
least pretension he discloses a great (piickness of ideas, 
justness of judgments. His eyes arc full of expression, 
his sentiments chaste and good, liis sensibility great; he 
is stout built, wide i)articiilaily al llie breast; his body 
sufficiently straiglit, his head not too much inclined for- 
ward. His judgment appears solid; he is, so far, (juite 
another James, and his sister is wondering at him. 
lie lias learned, Avhilst at college, to till and cut the 
grapevines. They have promised to send him cuttings 
and he purposes to plant a vineyard. We went this 
morning together over our land, lie made several ju- 
dicious remarks, pointed the i)lace convenient for a 
vineyard. As we came back along the line adjoining 
the road on the other side of the draft, where the n-arest 

16 



out springs are, lie noticed a row of rails that are not 
put up. lie appeared to be much concerned that rails 
should be sutT(^red to decay and rot on the ground. He 
tohl nu^ thai if I wouhl let liiiii do it, he wouhl put Ihciii 
u]) liiuisolf tills week coniiiig in. He lias been baptized, 
taken the .sacrament of eucharistie and contirmation. 
He says that nothing offers more true happinesvs than 
religion. I believe the priests have wrought miracles 
with him. May he ])ersever(^ in tlie course he has taken. 

The irreparable loss which we have met with; my 
coiis<'(iuent forlorn situation; the consideration that 
your age little admits of delay; together with the in- 
formation which I have lately received that the course 
of lecture of law at Litchfield commences in the autumn, 
has induced me to alter my opinion as to the propriety 
of your attending the college of Washington during this 
winter session. I think it best for you to settle imme- 
diately all your little affairs at ranonsburgh or Wash- 
ington, and go without any delay to Litchfield, Con- 
necticut, that you may be in time to commence with 
the others. 

I here inclose a letter to introduce you to John Colton 
Smith, former govi^rnor. I had a small acquaintance 
with him at Washington. 1 Ix'lieve him to be a man 
of friendly disposition, posses;sing great affability. I 
hope he will have the goodness to give you such hints 
or advices a« you may stand in need of, and to recom- 
mend you to law char.Mcters or other persons in or about 
Litchtiehl. Vou mnsi take yourself the enclose<l letter 
to him if practicable. I shall not delineate to you any 
particular line of conduct, I trust to your judgment and 
prudence. You are going to live amongt^t men dis- 
tinguished for prudence, discretion, good uuirals, love 
of science: great manv of whom are trulv scientific. 



17 



Match them as well as you can, at any rate be studious, 
modest, forbearing, polite; at the same time don't in- 
dulge great intimacy with any, and trust your secrets 
to no one. 

Ais soon as you will be arrived you will write to me 
on the state of the institution, tbe prospects of its ad- 
vantage, the number of students, expenses of traveling, 
price of tuition, of boarding, &c. Before you go you 
will compare the expense of traveling on horse back, 
price of horse and saddle, with the expense of going by 
the stage and choose the cheapest and least subject to 
accidents. 

My letter to you of the 18th of August, contained fifty 
dollars. My letter of the 29th of September contained 
also fifty dollars. I here enclose one hundred. Be sav- 
ing and change jour notes as 3'ou go, for the western 
notes may not be current in Connecticut. 
. Write to me before you leave the place where you are. 

I love you. 

Adieu, 

J. B. C. L. 



St. Louis, October 17, 1817. 
Jason Chamberlin, 

Dear Sir: — Kef erring myself to my letter to you of 
the 10th inst. I shall merely add that probably I may go 
to the seat of government this month. 1 shall let you 
know my determination as soon as taken. I shall be at 
Ste. Genevieve on the 4th Monday of this month to 
attend the court. Perhaps I shall proceed on a journey 
from that place. 1 shall not certainly wait to attend 
the special court if Judge Stewart was here. I should 
wish to know ho^^' many terms and days in terms he 

18 



has omitted to attend at Jackson Court. I request yoii 
to obtaiu a certificate of the same from Mr. MoF'erron 
in my name in due form. I may or may not make use 
of it, 

^ly son James of whom [ had spoken to you is arrived 
home from Kentucky. I am still determined to send him 
to college in New Enj^land. After having long time con- 
sidered I am now inclining to give the preference to the 
College of Providence. I wish to let me know when the 
session commences there and also to designate me some 
person to whom James might be recommended so that 
I could occasionally know how he behaves and what 
progress he may make. I should also wish to know 
what will probably be his yearly expense if he was not 
sufficiently proficient to be admitted in the college, in 
this case I wish you had the goodness to direct me to 
some of the best qualified clergymen in the neighboring 
part of the college in «|nestion where he might be placed 
to be ])repare<l to be admitted at the college either in 
six or twelve months. 1 have sent you by the ijist mail, 
two papers containing the 1st part of the biography of 
Chas. Lucas. By this mail I send you two more con- 
taining the 2d part of the same. It is well ascertained 
that the <leath of Charles is deeply lamented throughout 
the county of St. Louis; in the counties of Howard and 
St. Charles it has produced a burst of indignation. 

A gentleman of high standing in St. Charles has told 
me yesterday that the 1st ])art of the biography of 
Charles Lucas has excited the greatest concern, that it 
is read and sought after every where. He tells me that 
there were to his knowledge two considerable meetings 
held in St. Charles County on the occasion of the death 
of Chas. Lucas, where it had been agreed that none of the 
membeiTs of the meeting should employ Benton as at- 



19 



torney, nor his friends. Perhaps it is meant only his 
second. I was told the other day, by a respectable 
farmer who lives on the road of St. Charles, 12 miles 
from St. Louis, that he was a few days before at a rais- 
injT^ of a house; that all the persons present, exceeding 
20 in number, expressed their indignation and declared 
unanimously that they never would employ Benton as 
attorney. I am told that at Potosi, B. was pretty well 
countenanced during the last term of the court. At 
Ste. Genevieve and St. Michael. Charles is much re- 
gretted. I am satisfied that Scott has lost ground at 
Ste. Genevieve. Perhaps if similar meetings as those 
held in St. Charles should take place elsewhere and in 
various parts of the teiTitory, it would have the best 
effect to give a high and an equivocal tone to public 
opinion. Lawyer Tucker has appeared at the bar with 
advantage. Is much employed and bids fair to be in 
the way of B. 

I am led to believe that the death of Charles from 
which tliie faction expected to reap so much advantage, 
is just going to operate much against them. They are 
not aware probably that Charles occupied so good a 
standing, and on so extensive scale. From what I 
understand none was more popuhir than liim north of 
the Missouri. I hope you will inform me minutely, as 
far as you know of the state of public opinion in the 
southern counties, and how the biography of Charles 
Lucas has been received. However improbable it may 
be, let me tell you that I am just now informed that 
Benton and J. Clark are circulating or about circulating 
a petition to Congress against me. I presume it must 
be to have me impeached. If it is so they must be 
crazy, although great numy things can be done by hard 
swearing. 



20 



Bo pleastnl to let me know whether the petition foi' 
erectin"; into a state a ceitaiu part of thiis territory has 
been generally signed or not in the southern counties. 
I am, &c., 

Respectfully, 

J. B. C. L. 



St. Louis, November 7th, 1817. 
\V»^o. Lucas, 

My dear son: — Your letters of the 2Gth of October 
and 3d of November have been just received. It ap- 
pears that you have felt a strong desire to come and 
see us. I can assure you that 1 am not without recip- 
rocating the same desire, but I have submitted to rea- 
son and in hasting your departure to Litchfield, I have 
thought that I was hasting your return to us. I am 
gla.d to learn that you have determined to comply with 
my directions, however, if you had felt too great a re- 
pugnance, 1 should have been s(»rrv to see you going 
as if compelled. I never intended to offer violence to 
your feelings. 1 hope that you will not be there two 
or three months without being well satisfied or recon- 
ciled. If 1 am well informed you will meet there with 
students from various parts of the United States. The 
lectures, debates, «S:c, will ])resent to your view at the 
same time tho law and the reason of it, the general 
system, its divisions and subdivisions, the diyness and 
complication of the subject will disappear before the 
method and luminous expositions of able professors 
after you will have been there six or eight months. 
You will tlu'u be able to ascertain the degree of prog- 
ress which you ran make and at the end of a year you 
may come back home with a pretty good clew of the 

2L 



Itnv s. l*erhaps yon might stay one year longer if you 
thouglit neeessarj^ 

When 1 consider the malice of tlie enemies of Charles 
Lncas and the pleasure they would enjoy if I should 
sink under my misfortune, 1 feel more determined than 
ever to bear m^' fate with fortitude. I hope that you 
will go pari passa, we owe it to ourselves and to society. 
Your brother had a great many friends. I am per- 
suaded that you will feel the benefit of it when you 
will come back with us. I have directed to you the 
two numbers of the Missouri Gazette that contain the 
biograpliy of your late brother. 

All the family is well. I love you. 

Adieu, 

J. B. C. L. 

Give me in your next a full detail, not only of what 
relates to your ])rospects in your studies, expenses, 
pastimes, but to yourself inwardlj". I wish to enjoy 
your unlimited confidence. I hope you will experience 
that it will not have been misplaced. 

J. L. 



St. Louis, November 10th, 1817. 
Abner Leacock, 

Dear Sir: — I here enclose a paper containing a part 
of the biogra])hy of my late son Charles Lucas. I 
shall send you the other part by the next mail. I 
need not to tell you that my situation is truly deplor- 
able. You are a father and you had some opi)ortunity 
of forming an idea of m^- depai-ted son. In expecta- 
tion that my soitows may be alleviated, I intend to 
take soon a journey to Kentucky. If I find any relief 
I shall probably continue as far as Washington, which, 
if so, will not be before the 15th of Jany. 

22 



Charles Lucas liientioutHl nic on his return from the 
city last spring that he had suggested you the idea of 
having your son reeonimended for the place of reg- 
ister or receiver of the land oltice which will probably 
be established during this session eoniing in the north- 
ern part of our territory, say Howard County, this part 
otherwise called Boon Lick settlement has a great 
reputation for health and fertility of soil, and in my 
opinion deservedly so. Its population is already very 
considerable, respectable and astonishingly increasing. 
No place presents fairer prospects for a young man. It 
is said, and I believe, that John Scott will make gTeat 
efforts to secure these offices to his creatures. 

A considerable number of speculators in our terri- 
tory, such as the governor, &c, are going to spend the 
wint(a' at \>'ashington in order to present petitions 
and use their endeavors to have their land claims con- 
firmed. If they can they will bolster up Mr. Scott and 
aid him in all his attempts, for they are all jockeys 
of the same club, therefore if you wish to secure to' 
your son or a friend the appointment in question, the 
application ought to be made as early as possible, at 
all events, I make with pleasure to your son the tender 
of my hous(% and (►f any service 1 may have it in my 
power to render him. 

I presume that I need not to mention you that all 
those land claims which are not yet confirmed are des- 
titute of any force in law, justice or equity, that the 
papers or documents on which they are predicated are 
for the best part s])uri(uis, or. to say the least, have no 
authenticity; that the concession for the same were not 
issued by the proper officer, authority, and in many 
cases were issued after the king of Spain had ])arted 
with the domain in favor of France. 



23 



I am so well acquainted with those claims that if 
I was at Washin<:^on in due time I coiild confidently 
appear at the bar (»f the House of Kepiesentatives as 
required, and satisfy tliem that the act of Conoress of 
1814 under the authoritj- of which so man^^ claims have 
been confiruK'd has departed from the fundamental 
principles on which the right of the U. S. to the public 
lands in Louisiana- is predicated agreeably to the re- 
spective treaties of cession of Louisiana with Spain to 
France and from France to the U. S.; that the effects 
of the same act of 1814 have become ruinous to the 
U. S. and such as could not be intended, and tliat the 
continuation of that departure by any new act of Con- 
gress extending its effects to claims not yet confirmed, 
would render it almost unnecessary to establish land 
offices here, or would hardly leave anything else about 
the present settlements and for a great distance from 
the same, but marshes and mountains as objects of 
j)ublic sales. 1 am informed that some of the land 
claimants have divided their claims into shares which 
they have sold or intend to sell to some members of 
Congress or other persons of infiuence. When many 
of those claims were owned by the original grantees 
they were depreciated as being represented to be fraud- 
ulent by the same persons who since have bought them 
for little or nothing. 

Having considered myself at all times as something 
more than a fiominal rcimblican. 1 make this commnni- 
cation in order to assist in defending the public thing 
from being totally dilapidated or plundered. I beg 
leave to observe that you need not look for correct in- 
formation, neither from Mr. 8cott nor ]Mr. Hope from 
the Illinois territory, for they are both holders of claims 
and their popularity with several influential men de- 



24 



]3en(ls upon tlicir succoss in t\w land way. As T wish 
to live in sonic (Icgrco of peace witli niv ncij»hboi'S, 1 
wish you to consider this coniniunication as conti- 
dential. 

We liave in our teiTitory, a i^cnthMiian of tiie bar of 
rcsjiectable talents and exceih'ut reputation. His 
name is Jason (MianiberHn. He is from tiie state of 
N'ermont, and I believe is <;('nerally known by the 
delej;ation of that state in Conj;ress who may satisfy 
you nioro fully on his deserts. 1 bej]j leave to recom 
mend him to you as a fit person to fill the office of at- 
torney of the U. S. for the Missouri Territory or that 
of I\ei>ister of the land oltice that will probably be 
opened for the southern part of the territory either in 
the county- of Girardeau or Lawrence. 

I am, &c. 

J. B. C. L. 



St. Louis, 13th December, 1817. 
Genl. Wm. Carol, 

Sir: — TTavin«i heard my late son, Charles Lmas. often 
speak of you as bein^i a friend of his, and beinj; per- 
suaded that the circumstances of his untimely death, 
if known to you, must have excited your feelin.i«;s in a 
hij;h dej;ree, 1 bejj^ leave to re(|uest you, in memory of 
that former friendship, if compatible with your views, 
to favor nu' with an answer on ih*' followinjj; (lueries. 

What kind of rejtutation Thomas II. lienton enjoyed 
when he was student in North Carolina as far as you 
know? 

What were his pursuits in the state of Tennessee 
from his first cominp," into it until he left it? 

What is his general reputation in the state of Ten- 
nessee? 

25 



What dift'erence had he with Geul. Jackson? 

Did Jacksou accept or refuse? 

If he did refuse, what cause of refusal did he assigu? 

Did he charge Benton with anj' improper act, if so, 
be pleased to specify it. 

What was understood to be the cause of Kenton 
leaving Tennessee? 

Mr. Benton from his tirst ari'ival at St. Louis until 
now has Ix^^'n indefatigablv pursuiuj^ every means he 
might think to be conducive t<» ])()pularity. He has 
wedded himself, or rather organi/ed a bloody faction 
who thought that ('harles Lucas was much in tht-ir 
way. He has become the executioner of their ne- 
farious schemes. He is now underhandedly after me 
with a petition or denunciation to (^ongress against me 
as a judge, which one of his tools carries and shows 
cautiously to those who are ])reviously ascertaiiUMl to 
be willing to sign anything against me. I am in- 
formed that they meet with very poor encouragement, 
but be it as it may, I feel no kind of unea.siness. I 
know it is a mere shift to divert me from my object 
or put me if they can on the defensive. This, I assure 
you, will not make me deviate in the least from my 
course. 

The biography of Charles Lucas has been published 
in the Missouri Gazette. I hope you have received the 
number that contains it, if not let me know it. If 
you please, I will forward it to you. 

Yours, &c. 



St. Louis, Jany. 11th, 1817. 
Charles Lucas, 

(I have informed him that I consent to spend as 
much if necessary, as |300 per year for Wm., all in- 

26 



eluded, whctlier at Carlislo or any wlicro olse, I re- 
(liu'st liini to <'xli()i't \\u\. to study in the ratio of his 
ajj^e and the sacriticc I make for liim. I caiiiutt k«M'p 
him longer in ((dh'iic than two or tliree years, lie 
oniiiit to stu<ly niathenialics dirrctly and i-heniistry 
with nuithematics when <h)ne with the Latin.) 



?^t. Louis, 3d October, 1818. 
Wui. Lucas, 

My dear son: — I am just arrived from -Jackson in 
Cape (lirardean Countj^ where we have hehl tlie court 
for the southern circuit. The term of my commis- 
sioner has ex])ired yesterday. 1 am tlierefore di^'.in- 
cumbered of otticial duties. On niy return I found 
your letter of the 2(ltli of Au^t. nlto, post mark Augt. 
25th. I h<n)e my letter to you of the 13th of Septem- 
ber will come safe in your hand. It encloses one Post 
Bank Note of the U. S. Bank, payable at New York. 
I here enclose a draft in your favor for three hun- 
dred dollars on the Bank of the U. S. Philadelphia. 
In doiui* this 1 have complied witii all what ycui have 
requested from me. Ai>ain the time this letter will 
reach you it will be proper for you to leave Litchtield. 

Wm. Tharp was tried at the last superior court at 
St. Louis for killiui;- Wm. Smith. He was acquitted 
after a very laborious trijil. 

I have been very unwell by severe cold, I am recov- 
ering; slowly. I propose to write to you by next mail 
and direct my letter to you, post office at New York 
or Philadelphia, 

1 have this morniuii-, the 4th of OctobfM' received the 
])ainful news of the death of little Ann the eldast 
daughter of Mrs. Hunt. She expired last night at 

27 



midnight. She was taken with very violent fits a few 
days before. Slie had been wiy sickly for h)no- time, 
but since about twelve montlis slie had perfectly re- 
covered, was thrifty, lively and very amiable indeed. 
She indicated great yield of cuteness and sense. 1 
loved the poor little thing. I am persuaded her father 
and mother are very much affected. This is the begin- 
ning of Mrs. Hunt's trials. I presume you know that 
they live in tlie country. I am told they have many 
sick persons in their house. Tliei-e is a great yield of 
sickness about Cape Girardeau and Kaskaskia, espe- 
cially among the new comers. 

Adieu, 

J. B. C L. 



St. Louis, October 27, 1820. 
Hon. Robt. Moore, 

My dear sir: — J received 3'our letters written during 
last session of Congress. I have learned with a particu- 
lar pleasure by your last of the 12th of April, ulto., that 
through your instrumentality Congress has escaped, 
though narrowl}', the imposition which Mackay was 
going to practice upon the U. S. What a fortunate 
thing that the error has been discovered in time. Had 
such a bill passed, Mackay & Co. would not have failed 
to dress up and assimilate, by all the affidavits and 
other exparte evidence necesisary, a mnlti])licity of other 
claims, and apply for the further extension of what he 
would call a principle, which would be in reality an 
error. This is the way that the least aberration from 
principle, specially in legislating on laud subjects, 
affords ground and means at least plausible, where 
none of any kind at first existed. 

28 



T liavc lately seon a i)ani])lilpt on land rlaims, pnb- 
ILsIkmI (Inrinii <•'«' Ijint si'ssion of Conjiiess, at Washing- 
tdii, h\ llic aj^cnt of Mackay and others. It is replete 
wiili misstatements and false positions. It contains no 
aimiiiicnts from the merits of the claims, but <tnly from 
the jirovisions of the act of ( 'on.iir(\<s of th<' 121 h (»f Ajiril, 
1S14, (Mitith'd "An Act foi- the A<ljnst iiient of Land 
Claims." Thosn provisions ai-e mere aber?*alions to 
which the appellation of ])iincii>h-s j^overninji- the rights 
of the Spanish land c laims is em])hatica]ly <i,iven, to the 
end of haviiiii those aberrations extended to cases not 
embraced by tliat act. 

Permit me, however, to observ(^ that it is not enonjih 
for the trne friends of the U. S. in Congress to escape 
danger by remaining on tlie defensive with t)ie land 
cdaimants. They on^ht to antici])ate new att(Mn])ts an<l 
efforts by beconiinn actors also, and brin^inn a bill pro- 
viding- that any hind claimant may institute wsnits 
against the U. S. within a limited time in some of the 
courts of the V. S. to have the merits of tlH'ir claims 
tried, &c, A:c, after which the claims against which a 
judicial decision will lie made, against or for which no 
suit shall have been instituted in due time, will be en- 
tirely out of (juestion, and a non (^itity. lentil then 
there will be no end to intriutie. bribery and hoj)e« of 
one kind or o1 her success inM-haps at the end of a session 
or at such orher uniiuardcMl time. 

Vou have piobablx' been infnrmed that I was candi- 
date I'or I he state conv( nt ion. I did not succeed be- 
cansc beini; r(M|uested to d( claic my f^entiments on the 
subject of slavery. T expressed an opinion that it would 
be i)roper to limit the importation of slaves to tive years 
or such a short period from the date of the Constitution. 
Besides this, my perc>onal enemies and the ardent 



29 



friends of slavery, in all its extent and attributes, 
charged me, or suspected me to be hostile to the princi- 
ple of slavery all together, and contended that 1 dared 
not to go the whole length of my opinion, knowing it 
to be unpopular. In fact, I Avas called an emancipator, 
and this is the worst name that can be given in the 
state of Missouri. As I I'csidc in the county of St. Louis, 
where the Spanish land claimants have the most in- 
Jluence, 1 liad to cnconntcr their powerful oi)position. 
thus 1 lost the eh'ction from those two causes combined 
together. 

1 also cous(Mited since to b(^ a candidate foi- the Senate 
of the V. S. My ])rMsp(M-ts were nnich fairiM' bf^-ause 
the election was not contined to a county, but I was 
again unsuccessful. When the members of both houses 
first av<!sembled it was generally believed that 1 had a 
majority on my side, but my opj)oiieiits having a multi- 
plicily of hands at work, not less bold than artful, ►suc- 
ceeded in having the election put off from time to time, 
and taking advantage of the ignorance, credulity and 
want of experience of numbers of my friends, had Bar- 
ton and Benton elected. The last carried his election by 
a majority of one. I was next to him. I^'rom the course 
which 1 have taken with the land claimants, nothing 
was more dreaded than to see me going to the Senate. 
The efforts against me were commensurate to the im- 
portance of the occasion. I need not to tell you that 
Benton is the very ruffian who killed Charles Lucas 
under circumstances well known to you. He was en- 
gaged in the affray where (leneral Jackson was shot 
tlirough the arm several years ago. It was lie or one 
of his brothers that did it. Various acts of violence 
placed him in such a situation that he could not remain 
any longer in the state of Tennessee. He is blood 



30 



thii'sty, bold niid (losp<'rcUe, yet lie ran put on an ap- 
pearance of sviivily, borrow a lan^na.iic sentimental and 
exalted. (Slreat reliance is p]ace<l on him bv the land 
claimants. lie will make <iii»antic efforts during this 
s(^ssion. lie will be humble, accommodatinii. crinjiinpj 
or any think whatever, in order to attain his obj<'ct. 
His itccnniary circumstances are dcs])erMt<'. He has 
sui)]>(U'ted for several years past an uni)rotitable pub- 
lic paper for and in view of his political agiiraudize- 
ment. lie has lived hi.i»h and at a ureat ex])ense for the 
same purpose. His all de])cuds on iicttinu th<' land 
claiuis contirmed or on obtaininj; by any surreptitious 
means the) ])asvsa<;e of law that will mediately tend 
to that object. 

As an editor he has lavished every abuse and con- 
tumely on the re])rcs('ntativc8 in ('oni>ress that were in 
favor of the amen<lment of Mr. Taylor for restrictinj* 
slavery in the Missouri bill. No exertion was wantinj^; 
on his part whilst the Missouri question was under con- 
sideration before ('on<iress last year and this year to 
excite the peo])le «tf ^lissouri to a<lopt any rash meas- 
ures. 1 have not written to you dnrinji the last recess 
of Conjiiess. I re(|nested the editor of the ^Tissouri 
(razette to send you his pai)er which contained much 
more local information than could be containe<l within 
the bounds of a letter. I hojx' you will prepare your 
fiiends in the Senate and elsewhere to n«eet or obviate 
the intrigues and eft'orts of l>enlon. Let not the per- 
secution which T have endured, the personal sacritice 
which 1 have made, nor my cons* (pient self denial of a 
seat in the Senate be lost and unpioductive to the I"^. S. 

There is some probability that I shall <io to Wash- 
ington this winter, at all events be so good as to write 
to me as soon as convenient. 



31 



In case the State be admitted into the Union I should 
like to be appointcnl judge of the District Court of the 
U. S. for the state of Missouri. Not so much for the 
sake of the office as for the purpose of pro^MnI» to my 
enemies here, that my services and fidelity to the U. S. 
are duly appreciated at Washiniitou. 

If you think me to be deserving that office, be so 
good to apply to the President without loss of time, 
and induce otlier friends to do the same. I hope that 
the SecK'lary (>f State will bo well disposed towards me. 
Mr. Crawford knows better than any (me else how I 
have acted as land commisvsioner and what difficulties 
I had to encounter. 

I am rt'S])e(tfidly, &c, 

P. S.— As an instance of tlio moans which Mr. Benton 
havS used to obtain a sear in the Scnat<% ])erniit me to 
state to you that Mr, Benton went in person on the day 
the election for senator took place to see one of -the 
members of the Mouse of Kepresentatives who was in 
bed very dangerously sick, and earnestly solicited hiu) 
to come to the house in the afternoon and give him his 
vote. Hiis attending physician was consulted and gave 
his opinion that the patient could not go without an 
imminent danger of his life. Mr. Benton persivst<Hl in 
encouraging tlie sick member to go and made him tlie 
(iffer of his honsc and the best attendance that conhl 
be bestowed. At last the member consented to go 
against the o])iniou of his piiysician. He was carried 
to the houwe and supi)ort<Ml by two persons whilst he 
remained in it. He was muttering and speaking all 
the while as if he had not the use of his senses. As 
soon as the vote was takei< he was carried to Mr. 
Benton's house, where he hag died since. There never 
was perhaps a vote more spurious and illegal and more 
clearly obtained by briberv, iK:c. 



32 



St. Louis, Nov. 9, 1820. 
Wm. H. CraAvford, 

Sir: — All tlic jx^rsons interested in the Spanish lau<l 
claiins within the bounds of the state of MisKouri have 
succeeded to procure to Thois. 11. Benton, their ai^ent and 
partner, a seat in the Senate of the U. S. No doubt but 
that sj;i.i»antic eiTorts are j»oing to be made during the 
present session of ('ou«ress to obtiiin the passaiie of 
some act to eonlirni mediatcdy or immediately, number 
of the land claims and ])ut the residue in a proper train 
for contiiniaticm afterwards, for it would be imprudent 
to attempt to carrv everything at once. Congre.ss might 
take alarm. 

I need not to observe that the interestis of the hold- 
ers of the large land claims are adverse to the actual 
settlers, claiming by pre-emption, and that if the former 
should succeed, even all persons wisliing to purchase 
unimproxed lands in the estate would be placed in a 
woivse situation, and large tracts of such land might 
renuiin so for a long time. Those holders of large 
claims are aln^ady loaded with grants confirmed by the 
former b(tard of commissioneis and by the recorder of 
land titles. Any addiUonal (•ouflrmath)n will swell 
their fortunes to a c<»lossal size; nay, it will be clearly 
in my opinion an original grant from the IT. S. under 
the color of confirmation of a supi>ot<ed Spanish right, 
and whilst the U. S. will be giving away land to a large 
anionnt, society will be incumbered with nabobs, and 
the industrious and poor actual settlers willing to pay 
the ordinary price for a small parcel of public land will 
be placed in a desperate situation. 

In order to pr<'vent the U. S. from falling ultimately 
a sacrifice or becoming a prey to the intrigue and 
rapacity of land claimants, the Congress, ought, in my 



33 



humble opinion, not to remain passive any longer. A 
law oii<4ht to be paso^ed without delay to enable the land 
claimants to bring their claims before courts of justice 
within a limited time, and thus shut all avenue for 
further applications to Conorcss on the same subject. 
To my certain knowledge, many a claim has been con- 
firmed under the act of the 12th of April, 1814, which 
had no kind of foundation either in law or equit}^ No 
means or pretext ought to be afforded any more to 
accomplish so flagrant an evil. 

Mr. Benton was elected to the Senate by a majority 
of one. I was also a candidate and next to him on 
the poll. It is well known here that Mr. Benton is very 
unpopular, and even when the legislature first met 
his friends were well apprized that then he could not 
have been elected They, therefore, used every effort 
to put off the election for a considerable time, which 
actually did take place, and during that time all the 
land claimants and particularly the whole party of 
Governor Clark have been using every means in favor 
of Mr. Benton and against me. 

I may very t^afely say that had I been willing to make 
the land claimants and myself rich at the expense of the 
U. S. instead of strong opponents I should have found 
in them my warmest friends. No one could have coped 
with me in point of popularity, but my fidelity to the 
U. S. is an unpardonable crime for which I am perse- 
cuted by the rapacious, and affords an opportunity to 
those generally govei-ned by ambitious views to keep 
me on the back ground. I perfectly reconcile with my 
fate with respect to land claimants, but it shocking 
to find officers of the U. S. arrayed against me, such as 
the surveyor general, the superintendent of Indian 
affairs, his dependants, &c, &c, however the latter is a 

34 



land claimant to a considerable amount and as such, 
his interests speak loud. It is presumable that Mr. 
Benton will have at Wa.shiniiton. the sn])port and the 
inHuencc of llciirv (Im.n, his Iriciid and relation. 

I have lliouulii not lon^ since, of applyinsi; for the 
ai)i»ointnienl of jiid^c of the District Couii; of the U. S. 
for the state of Missouri. If you think nie to be deserv- 
inji that ofitice yon will confer nie a fav(tr in maklnjij 
llu^ .ipidicalion for nu' to 1 he Preisident with as little 
delay as you conveniently can. I wish to obtain that 
appointment uu)re for the i)nri)ose of proving to my 
enemies in the Missouri State that my vservices and 
fidelity' to the U. S. are duly appreciated at Washington, 
than upon any other account. 

Very respectfully, &c, 



December 21st, 1820. 

Mahlon Dickerson, 

(Informing- him that probably I shall be nominated 
to the Senate to till the oftice of District Judge of the 
r. S. for the State of Misf^onri. That I expect to be 
opi)ose(l by lienton and S(M»tt, who have been elected 
through the inllnence of land claimants. 1 am the ob- 
ject of the resentment and hatre<l of all of them on ac- 
count of the nnfavorable rei)ort which I have uuide as 
land coniniissioner against their land claims.) 

&c, 4S:c, 



St. Louis, Jan. 1st, 1820. 
Hon. John lihea. 

Sir:— I understand that the Spanish land claimants 
are attending at Washington in an unutsual number. 

35 



They are assisted bv several persons in the capacity of 
agents. Thomas H. Benton m one of the most promi- 
nent of them. It is reported that he is to have a con- 
siderable share in the claims for the use of his industry 
and influence. As the editor of a paper at St. Louis he 
has published in the course of the la.st summer, various 
pieces in support of those claims and in vindication of 
the official conduct of the former Spanish commandant 
at St. Louis, which, although the land claimants may 
think otherwise, contains neither truth nor argument 
and are of very little assistance to their cause; but be- 
side this formidable column of speculators there are 
also some stragglers who ought to be closely watched. 
Permit me to bring one of them to your notice. 

Jais. Makay a former petty commandant under the 
Spanish government of a small post in the now Missouri 
Territory has presented a petition to the House of Rep- 
resentatives at the session before the last, and having 
supported it with an abundance of affidavits, has suc- 
ceeded in making before Congress a fair case of what 
I believe to be a foul one. In so much that a law has 
passed in his favor on the last day of that session. I 
Buspect that it could not have passed at any other day, 
by which he was enabled to have a claim which he has 
never presented before now, referred to the recorder of 
land titles to make report thereon upon the same prin- 
ciples and in the same manner as it has been entered on 
record before the passage of the act of Congress of the 
12th of April, 1814 concerning land in the state of 
Louisiana or Ty, of Miss. 

I am informed that a report pursuant to that law has 
been made and was before Congress at the last session, 
but Avas not acted upon. This disappointment, far 
from discouraging Mr. Mackay seems to have created a 



36 



new excitement in him and I am credibly inforpied that 
lie has <lis]>atfli(Ml his formei- auent at Wasliiiigtou to 
have aiKitlicr petition presoutcd diiriiij^ this present ses- 
sion for another claim to laud which is precisely in the 
same situation as the preceding;- one, that is, that it 
never was recorded in the office of land titles. The two 
(laiiiis arc contiguous to each other. It is thought that 
th(^ (luantity of land contained in the 1st claim is worth 
125000. Probably the claim for which he is now pe- 
titioniug is not worth less. I think that the claims of 
Mr. Mackay ought not to be continued, 1st because none 
but claims entered on record at the time of the passage 
of the act of 1814 were within the purview of the same 
act. 2d, because, the residue the same as in the letter 
to Wm. Lowndes, November 22d, 1818. 

J. B. C. L. 



Jany. 10, 1821. 
Walter Lowrie, 

Sir: — Having in my last stated to you that in case 
the President should nominate me to the Senate to 
till the office of judge of the District Court of the V. S. 
for the state of Missouri, I here enclose a number of 
the St. Louis Enquirer, containing an extract of a 
letter from the Flon. David Kart(»n to the editor. 

You will rind in it such undisguised disposition an<l 
sentiments as will enable you to appreciate one of the 
prominent men in our state, and know by what kind 
of ( haracters I am opposed. I am persuaded he was 
drunk when he wrote this. He Jiappens to be so some 
times durtng w hoh' we(dcs, and when he is in that situa- 
tion, he loses all command «»f liinistdf. and behaves 
like a mad man. 

37 



About two years a<»-o lu» was crazy for several weeks 
after a long fit of druiikenuess, and the recovery of his 
mental faculties was very doubtful. He has carried 
his excesses so far as to break when drunk all the 
lookinc" glasses and other furniture in a tiivern, strip 
himself entirely naked, scream and dance for houi's in 
presence of a number of children; although from the 
present state of things it is not probable that the ap- 
pointment in questioni will take place during this 
present session, I have thought proper, nevertheless, 
to present you with this sample. The rejection in the 
House of Representatives of the resolution for the ad 
mission of the state of Missouri is known so lately 
here, that there was no opportunity as yet, to ascertain 
the state of the public opinion on that subject. I hope 
that the influence of the rash and violent is drawing 
to an end. The people appear to be tired of them. 
They are not pleased with their constitution, and two 
thirds of ea<h house of the state legislature have pro- 
posf^d several amendments to it. However they were 
bafrted by the management of an expert minority who 
contended that the constitutional number required to 
carry a pro])osition of amendment of the constitution 
was two thirds of all tlu' members elected and suc- 
ceeded or carried their point. Nothing is more er- 
roneous. Our state constitution is perfectly similar 
on that head to that of the U. 8. I am. 

Respectfully, &c, 



Hon. Walter Lowrie, 

^ii-: — Although 1 am n(tt so happy as to be person- 
ally aciiuainted with you, yet from the kn(4wledge 1 
have of your political. character and also from the be- 
lief that you are not entirely ignorant of my own, I 



38 



liavc presumed to address you a lew Hues. If I am 
uot mistaJven you are one of the committee on the pri- 
vate hind chiims. This circumstance renders me par- 
ticuhirly anxious to open a correspondence with you. 
1 make no (h)ubt that a j>reater effort tliau ever will 
be made this year in OongTess to procure the passage 
of some law for the mediate or immediate confirma- 
tion of all or part of the French and Spanish land 
claims to land within the state of Missouri. The in- 
terest and consequent influence of the French and 
Spanish laud claimants has been much increased by 
a number of transfers which have been made of parts 
of these claims by the original land claimants to vai-i- 
ous persons of influence in and out the state of Mis- 
souri. Wm. Clark, the late governor is one of them. 
They have succeeded already in procuring the election 
both in the House of Representatives and in the Senate 
of persons the most devoted to their interests. Thomas 
H. Benton one of the senators elect, was the manager 
of their interests at St. Louis for three years past. I 
am informed that they hav<^ givtu him a share in their 
claims for his trouble and exerti<>u to j)rocure the c<»n- 
flrmation of the same claims. \\v is bold and artful 
and he will not fail to resort to a)' the means imagin- 
able to carry his point. The land claimants relj^ par- 
ticularly upon him. He has carried his election by 
one vote. I was also a candidate for the Senate and 
I was next to him. I had against nu' all the force of 
the land claimants. They exp(Mted nothing from me. 
They knew very well that as one of the former land 
commissieners, I had reported against their claims. 
They also knew that I never would abandon the ground 
which T had taken on that subject. For nu)re par- 
ticulars I beg leave to refer you to your colleagues the 



39 



Hon. Jonathan Roberts and Mr. Robt. Moore in the 
House of Representatives. 

I hope that Mr. Kenton will be duly watched and 
properly met with. Let not the jjersecution which 1 
have endured from the land claimants, let not my vir- 
tual self denial of a seat in the Senate, by undeviat- 
ingly pursuini*- the interests of the U. S. be lost and 
unproductive to the public. 

I shall present you in my next my views on the sub- 
ject of those claims. I am, 

Respectfully, &c, 



St. Louis, Jany. 12, 1821. 
Mahlon Dickerson, 

Sir: — I here enclose a number of the St. L(mis En- 
quirer, containing" ;ni extract of a letter fidui tlie Hon. 
David Barton, to the editor of the same paper. You 
will find in it such an undisjiuised disposition and sen- 
timents as will enable you to appreciate one of the 
most prominent men in the state of Missouri, and know 
by what kind of characters we are represente<l and 
what kind of opponents I had to meet with, for Mr. 
Barton has made use of all his influence to prevent 
me from being elected to the Senate of the U. S., and 
I am persuaded has done or will do all he can to pre- 
vent the President from nominating me, or the senate 
from confirming the nomination that may be made of 
me for the office of District Judge for the State of 
Missouri. This extract is evidently pregnant with every 
kind of mischief. The scurrility i< eontains is intended 
to inspire contempt and antipathy against any chief 
magistrate that may be elected fr(tm the North, and 
foment a spirit of jealousy and hatred among the good 
people of Missouri against the federal government. 

I am, Respectfully, 

40 



St. Louis, September 7th, 1822. 
Will. Lucas, 

I have committed a cjreat fault in remaining so long 
in suspense about declaring myself as a candidate. 
Your suggestion that I should olTer for legislature 
came too late. Considerable use was artfully made 
of my misunderstanding with Benton. My frie^ids 
were duped, princi])ally the farmers, personal and ac- 
tive friends, absolutely necessary to succeed in elec- 
tion. You have, no doubt, seen the publications of 
D. Barton and Nat. (\»ok exposing the letters and con- 
duct of Scott, &c. Extra Enquirer, published last 
Saturday preceding last election. 1 have been charged 
with being an insurgent and ])ar(lone(l rebel in Penn- 
sylvania. 1 have written to Janus Ross to obtain from 
him a declai'atiou that I was n(>t accomplice or abettor 
of any act of violence and insurrection. 1 have pre- 
pared an answer. This ])ublication will prove that 1 
am a western man of an old standing that western 
men placed a great ccmfidence, «S:c, and will place me 
on higher ground with the multitude than I occupied 
before the attack. 

Several friends have told me that I shall be voted in 
room of senator Rector, deceased, whether I offer or not. 
Certain it is that I shall not present myself as a candi- 
date. 

The people of St. Louis have been over-reached on the 
subject of the election. Geyer has deceived every body 
and seems to be proud of it. I hear with pleasure that 
you are doing well in y<tur profession and stand well 
with the people, &c. 

Practice is the only means to wear out this unhappy 
diffidence which is a leal incumbrance upon your men- 
tal powers. Nothing is more certain that your weight 



41 



of character, your respectability rests upon your useful- 
ness to yourself and the public. 

Yours, 

J. B. C. L. 



St. Louis, Jany. 3rd, 1822. 
Joshua Barton, 

Sir: — HaviiiLi stated in uiy letter to you of which 

was left at your house whilst you were on the circuit as 
1 have learned since, the unexpected demandis and con- 
sequent pecuniary embarrassments which I am placed 
in as one of the executors of the will of C. Lucas, de- 
ceased, you cannot be but satisfied that it is out of my 
power to take as much latitude as if the estate was not 
involved in debt. 

I called at your house since your return. You were 
then out. Beini»- told that you would soon be in, I 
waited a while and then went off. Adrian called on 
you since, and instead of calling at my house the day 
after, as you made me expect it, I received your letter 
of the 22d of last month, by which I learned that you 
could not conveniently come; that you would be ready 
at home tomorrow to give up the books in your pos- 
•sesision. 

I should have gone or sent for the books on the day 
appointed in your letter had you not mentioned at the 
same time that some of them are "soinething injured 
and there are few of the v(dumes which you cannot find, 
having been taken out by the lawyers". I thought it 
useless to call or send as it appeared that you were not 
actually ready to close this business entirely. Sir, it 
is out of my power to receive loan office paper in part 
of the price of the books. I think that under the pres- 

42 



ent ciroumstaiioos the safest way for the executors Is 
to have tlie books sold at auction. 

Lest the terms on which the books were lent to you 
liad escaiK'd your recollection, I here transcribe your 
receipt List of books received of John 15. C. LucaK and 
Theodore Tlunt, executors of the last will and testament 
of (Uiarles Lucas, Esq., deceased, of which I am to have 
the use until wanted and then to replace all that may 
be lost or materia Uy injured by use and return the 
balance. 

Judge Lucas in the meantime is to use any of them 
when and how he pleases. 

St. Louis, March Kith, 1818. 

Signed & 

J. B. 



St. Louivs, Jany. 19, 1822. 

Joshua Barton, 

j^ir; — Had I been the borrower instead of the lender 
I am very sure that the affair of the books would have 
been not at all momentous and the negotiation so short 
that there would be still less room for you to give the 
appellation of diplomatic letters to my communication 
on that subject. After having had the use of a well 
assorted set of books for nearly four yearvS, and lent 
them to every body as if they were mine, I should have 
considered myself under a particular obligation to the 
lender, and if 1 had not anti(ii)a(ed the demand of the 
books, I certainly should have returned them a« soon as 
demanded, with thanks, and replace those that were 
missinii. v>r pay the price of apprizement without hesita- 
tion, and if some explanation had been necessary I 
should have made it convenient to call on the lender. 

43 



Yon did think proper to take another conrse, and 
there lies the difference between yonr sense of i^ropriety 
and mine and hence I have been un<h^r the necessity to 
folknv your tract, though reluctantly; however wide 
thi.s difference may be; however saniiuine you may ap- 
pear to be of the correctness of your conduct on the 
present occasion; however great your pretensions or 
presumption is, permit me nevertheless, young man, 
to let you know that I consider you to be a perfect 
stranger to good breeding, and overcome with venom 
and impudence, and that until yon have recovered from 
the great surprise and astoni^shment resulting from your 
notions or visicms of sudden rise to power and import- 
ance, there is no hope of 3'our improving in manners 
an<l feelings. 

I beg of you to understand distinctly that you have 
failed in your princi])al object. I don't feel myself in- 
sulted by your abuse because I am conscious of its 
inapplicability to me. 

Expecting always that you would return the books 
without being asked, I waited as long as I could, and 
when I requested 3'ou to return them, I stated to you at 
the same time tiie pecuniary embarassments which the 
executors were in. I did it to apprize you that it was 
from necessity and not from choice that I made the de- 
mand. My real wish was to act with all possible de- 
licacy, but I was poorly requitted, when after your 
having proposed to buy the books Avith land office 
money at 25 percent of discount, except one hundred 
dollars in specie, you concluded in saying that if this 
proposition did not suit I might send for the books. 
Sir, I did not consider myself obliged to go or send 
to your house for the books. I thought it was the busi- 
ness of the borrower to have them delivered to me at 



44 



mv house, liowever, making a due allowance for your 
little knowledge of quod deoet. 1 .submitted to jiend, but 
with the intention to send once for all. This induced 
nie t!i inform you before I sent, that I wished to have 
rhe thinins done at once; that you miiiht ((dlect the 
books which you said you had lent to divers lawyers, 
and as soon as you apprized me by your second letter 
that y(»u wert' ready to make the delivery of the books, 
I acconlinuly (iirected Adrian Lucas to close the busi- 
ness with you; not to do anvthinj; by halves and not 
to be forever at your door. I had not authorized him 
to settle any accounts for fees or other set off. I had 
not even thouirht of such a thinp:, and when he refused 
to do it, it was to [lursue his instructions and not at 
all because lie mistrusted you. If I lia<l ittended my- 
self, it would probably have been otherwise, because I 
had full discretion to act. This is the amount of the in- 
structions which I iiave to Adrian. Anything beyond 
that originated in him. But, supposing these fees really 
due, it might be asked why yourself would not trust 
me one hour f«u- them? A debt founded on loan is of 
a much higher degree ."^han one for fees. It seemed to 
me that after you had l)een indebted to the executors 
for almost four years, it was but reasiuiable to allow 
them to be in your debt also for some time. Again, 
with respect to Adrian, I recollect also that I gave him 
a memorandum of three or four sets of books which 
were tin the list of appriz mix nt and not on the list re- 
ceipted by y«ni. I thougiit it possible that those few 
books hail be»'n delivered, though inadvertently omitted 
in the receipted list. It was ct rtainly not to press 
upon you to tiud them, but merely in order to ascertain 
whether they had not been delivered promiscuously 
with the others, and 1 was quite as explicit with Adrian 



■ko 



on that particular as on the Other. I cannot believe 
that Adrian mistrusted you or intended to insult vou in 
beino' particnhir in countinji the books. Not being 
much vers(Ml in any business I believe he mistrusted 
himself. Probably he thought that he had omitted 
entering Cooper's Justinian and other bookis in the list 
when he deli^ereil the books in 1811^, and this time he 
wanted to avoi<l any oversight. I hope it is no offense 
to count books l\vic«\ if it is usual and proper to count 
money twice also; besides every one lias his own way 
and 1 don't acknowledge yours as a standard. As to 
Cooper's Justinian ])einiit me to state that you are mis- 
taken. Yoii did not get it at Mr. Easton's oftic(^ It 
has been delivercMl to you with the other books, for it 
is found on the list of books ap])rized. It necessarily 
follows that the same book had been carried from Mr. 
Easton's house to mine, the apprizement having been 
made at my house, and none of the books having ever 
after that time been remo\'ed frmn it except those that 
were delivered to you. We have likewise 8hakespear 
in six vol. on the list of ap])rizeuu'nt, valued |17. The 
Shakespear which Adrian did get from you is also in 
six vol. and the bookseller's ]>rice marked tliin-eon 
III. 50. TIk' trnth is that (lie Sliaks])ear belonging to 
the estate is lost if this is not the one. If Cooper's 
Justinian was omitted on the list receipted by you, and 
yet Avas in your possession, and acknowledged by you 
to belong to the estate, might it not be presumed that 
tile Sliakspear in (luestion which you had in your pos- 
session, without knowing how it came, belong to the 
estate and was also omitted on the list? But, sir, to 
cut short, this set of books will be delivered to you any 
time you will send for it. 



46 



I first intended to take no notice of any part of your 
letter except that which rehites to Shakspeare, and your 
bill of fees, but on further retiection I thought that you 
stood in tli(^ ureatest watit of some hints and charity 
has dictated this (Hic if iUcy are imt of present use 
to you, I li<)])e they will when you return to your senses. 

In addition to wlial I have before stateil on the sub- 
ject of the set off which yon proposed to Adrian, permit 
me to obiserve that vdu did not present yonr bill of fees 
to liim, and that any deiiiaiid by way of defalcation 
oujiiil to be made as si)e<*itic and certain as the original 
demand is; but now the demand beinin' specific enoujj^h 
by the bill which yoii hav(^ transmitted to me, I am 
just c^oin.n to meet it. 

Takinji you to be a man of business and careful of 
your own concerns, 1 take it for granted that you have 
duly examined your books, and that you have omitted 
no charge against the estate, in the meantime I mu*?t 
inform you that I have not as yet gone to the Clerk's 
office to ascertain the correchu^ss of your bill, but sup- 
posing it to be just, notwithstanding you are so per- 
emptory as to ex])c<t promi)t payment in specie, never- 
theless as the obligation is of an ordinary nature, and 
not privileged such as h)ans arc, 1 beg leave to inform 
that I shall discharge it as other obligations are dis- 
charged in the present times, but. sir, as you understand 
so well the doctrine of set off. I liope y(Ui will allow the 
same right in favor of the estate if I can justify any. 

The books which Mr. Hunt and myself as executors 
\-c. lent to you, have been ai)prize(l by legal apprizers, 
of whom yiui were one, to not less than four hundred 
and eighty dollars. If we had sold these books on the 
Kith of March, 181S, which is the time when they were 
lent to you, we may well presume that the proceeds of 



47 



the sale would have been equal to the appiizeraent. 
Then you had the use of |480 in books belongina- to the 
estate from thr lOtli of March, 1818, until the 15th of 
Jany. 1822, at six percent of interest, v,'hieh is the 
lowest that lioes. We defalcate from your bill fllO.SO, 
jind then the estate will at last be the loser of the ;^reat 
difference which exists between new books and (dd, 
or second handed ones, and also of the difference be- 
tween the prices which those bookvS would have fetched 
in 1818 and will f(M(h at present. 

1 am (|uite as willing; as you are to close all money 
transactions with yon, wishing at tuesame time that all 
your clients may ])ay you as well as I do. I hope you 
will allow me to think that I can easily find the op- 
portunity of employing another lawyer as great and 
as far famed as you are. 

I have made this communication much longer than 
I wished but as I ('Xi)('ct it to be the last, I thought 
proper to follow yon in all your windings and eccen- 
tricities, and render it as useful as I could. Sir, I am, 

Youi' liumble servant, 

J. B. C. L. 



St. Louis, Jany. 3d, 1823. 
Hon. Kufus King, 

Sir: — I should have written to you sooner had not 
sickness ])revcnte(l me to do it. I feel extremely anxious 
that the labor which I have bestowed on the subject of 
the Si)auish land claimi!;^ as a member of the former 
Board of Commissioners, the unparalleknl <litticulties 
and ])ersecution which I have encountered and borne 
in the discharge of my duties may be productive of 
some benefit to the public. Indeed, if you an not, as 
yet, sufficiently informed on that point you will bi' able 

48 



to learn from Mr. Edwards, senator from Illinois, or 'Sir. 
Cook, representative from the t^ame state, that it is 
notorious in the state of Missouri that had I been com- 
placent (MKMiiib to bctiav tho intm-est of the V. S. by 
eontirmiiiii roundly or icpoitinj;- favorably on the 
Spanish ( laiuKs 1 should be at present a very rieli man 
and should un<lubitably have a seat in the Senate of the 
U. S. 

The l<';idin<i principle of the bill which originated in 
the Senate^ last year on the subject of the Spanish land 
claimis in Missouri was perfectly just and correct, but 
it was inconsistent to provide in it that all claims pre- 
dicated on concessions issued at any time before the 
10th of ]March, 1804 should be confirmed ai-reeably to 
the Spanish laws, usages and customs, &c. In the first 
place it is repugnant to reason to admit that a Spanish 
commandant could issue coucessioms after his sovereign 
had alienated the domain. It is still more so after the 
king has giviai U|) possession which was on the 23d 
December. 1S03. 

How and an hen a Spanish otficer could isvsue conces- 
sions for land is a question of law which ought to be 
left to tile couit. Of course the act ought to be silent 
as to the dates of the concessions. The confirmation 
ought to be made conformably to the laws and regula- 
tions. The word regulations is omitted in the bill. 
Usage and custom is introduced improperly. Nothing 
constitutes usage in legal acceptation but a practice 
which runnel h beyond tlie nuMuory of man. The exist- 
ence of the Spanish government itself in lx)uisiana does 
not run beyond (he memory; of course no usage in legal 
accei)tation couhl exist under it. In introducing this 
word, the favorers of the Spanish claims did, I believe, 
intend to u,ive to aberrations from rules the character 



49 



of usage and cnstom. The bill is under other respects 
insidious. It is proper to keep in mind that no claims 
which remain unconfirmed have equity, except, per- 
haps, some which do not exceed respectively 800 arpens, 
equal to about 640 acres. 

I am pretty certain that Benton and Scott were not 
willing that the bill, such as it was when it passed the 
Senate, should pass the House of Representatives. It 
may be remembered that Mr. Scott took care to report 
the bill to the House of Representatives with such 
amendments as would prevent its passage with a view, 
I presume, to have it in their power to bring a more 
favorable one at some propitious time for their case is 
desperate if they cannot avoid having the merits of their 
claims tested before a court of justice. 

The agents of the land claimants ought to be closely 
watched this session. Mr. Lowndes from the House of 
Representatives was well acquainted with the subject. 
Probably his absence will give them fresh encourage- 
ment. 

Mr. Benton in his long, elaborated speech during last 
session on that bill, brought into view great yield of 
irrelevant matter. He was very inaccurate in his state- 
ments. Many of them were absolutely false, and I 
don't know how he could be mistaken. His popularity 
and best prospects depend on his success on that occa- 
sion. He was the counsel and agent for many years 
of the land claimants before he was in the Senate. I 
am persuaded that he stands the same way since and 
has shares in many large claims. If he don't succeed 
his situation will be desperate, for he is greatly in debt. 
He was one of the directors of the Bank of Missouri 
when it failed. He indefatigably puffed the credit of 
Hint institution. It is now fully ascertained that he 



50 



actually owes, |13,000 to that Bank. He bought notes 
of the same bank little while after its failure at 50 
percent of discount; it appearinu that all the directors 
inst» ad of nianaj>inj]j the affairs of the bank for the in- 
terest of the ci'editors, had assij^ncd i^reat part of the 
rights and credit.s of the bank io an insolvent man, in 
order to avoid responsibility and practice greater fraud. 
The District Court for the state of Missouri has at the 
suit of the r. S. appdinled trustees to hold the remain- 
in«> propcity of tlio l);iiik aiui attend its concerns. 

It is to the combined influence of the directors of 
that bank and of that of the Spanish land claimants that 
Mr. Benton is indebted for his seat in the Senate, and 
by his standing of senator he has succeeded to induce 
the Secretary of the Treasury to confide so much in the 
bank as to make deposits in the same to the amount 
of 1152,000 of the money of the U. S. which is now in 
rhe greatest danger of being lost. 

That you may be still the better guarded against 
every art and wite froui tliat quarter let me present to 
you another trait of Mr. Benton's delicacy. A certain 
person of tlu^ name of Mann, who enlisted in the army 
find served during hist war as sergeant, had a demand 
up<in the U. S. for s('r\ ices rendered by his wife prob- 
ably in the hospital of the army or otherwise. He 
requested Mr. Benton last year to attend to his claim 
and agreed to let him liave 15 per centum for his agency. 
Mr. Benton at his reluin told him that he had been 
able to obtain but a part of the sum which he de- 
maiuh'd, and then dehiyed returning his money under 
various pretences. At last Mr. Mann, by repeated 
applications obtained one half of it and was compelled 
to sue him for the remaining half which was about 
|G00, but as he was himself obliged to pay the amount 



51 



of a judp:ment rendered against him before he conld re- 
cover against Benton, he found himself under the neces- 
sity to compromise with his creditor bv giving an order 
upon Mr. Benton who accepted it upon the condition 
that the same should be satisfied in store goods at iH5t. 
Louis prices which was assented to. 

Mr. Benton wais also sued on his return to St. Louis 
last year for a balance due since two years, for Claret 
drank at his table when he was canvassing for his elec- 
tion. Mr. B. is much indebted otherwise and must 
necessarily become insolvent unless he can procure the 
confirmation of the Spanish land claims in whole or in 
part by direct or indirect means. I beg leave to refer 
you to my preceding letters. 



St. Louis, December 2d, 1823. 

(Substance) 
Wm. Lucas, 

Dear Sir: — T learn with pleasure that you are success- 
ful in your practice particularly at Newport. I always 
expected that with industry and confidence, of which 
the former is tlie parent, you would be able to succeed 
in your profession. You would not expect more from 
it — so — to, nor need you to apprehend much worse. He 
has put up with great yield from the barr during the 
last term of the court at St. Louis; he knows he stands 
low in the public opinion, you may easily enlist his feel- 
ing with occasional humoring. 

Probabl3' it is owing to me that you have met with 
the ill will of two judges. T wish the gratification you 
may feel to be my son over balance the inconvenience. 

52 



Strother is sinkinp; dayly licic; he advised me the 
otlier da}' to be a candidate for the le,i»ishiture, he told 
me that my popuhirity was iiK reasinii, and that if I 
weut to the state lenislature 1 stioiihl stand a pretty 
ji'ood chance of beiui* elected to the Senate of U. S. 
if not in the place of Barton certainly in the place of 
Benton. 

Barton and other enemies of Benton seem to be dis- 
posed to make use of me, too, as a rod to punish Benton. 
Barton has said that all the injuries he has sustained 
proceed from Benton. 

Barton has taken many depositions to establish his 
charges against Rector he has served due notice on 
Rector. He is in a fairer way of success than could be 
expected. Rector is about going to Washington. 
Barton went away with Dr. Buerry and a Mr. Ander- 
son a former clerk of cub Hammond. He was told by 
several about the time of his departure, that if he had 
supported me for the Senate Ave Avould have gone on 
harmoniously and probably his brother would be yet 
alive. 

I have heard nothing concerning the appointment of 
judge of supreme court. I don't think it probable, how- 
ever, that Wm. C. Carr will be the choice, it is unac- 
countable to me how McNear retains so great a share 
of popularity abroad, it seems to me that his standing 
here's pretty low. The house in which he used to 
reside belongs now to Mullanphy, he has removed some 
where in the west part of the town. Possible Barton 
wishes that I may be candidate for representative in 
Cong, that 1 may not be in his way for the Senate, at 
all events 1 have not changed, my intentions are the 
same as when vou left me. 



53 



As to the tax, you will oblige me if you will pay 
it yoiu\self or advauce the money to some auve person in 
Montgomery to do it. The sum 5 dollars per acre which 
Gammon asks for his land is too high considering the 
times. I wish you would ask him what is the lowest 
price he would take. I should like to rent the snulll 
improvement on Loute, but 1 would prefer anj'one to 
Gammon, he has stript the place of a great part of the 
rails, he has also in his possession all the slabs of the 
cabin. I should like to know if the cabin is not burnt. 
I shall be very glad to see you whenever you can make 
it convenient to come. 

Yours, etc. 



St. Louis, December 12, 1823. 

(N. B. I have written another letter to same some time 
since, copy omitted.) 

Albert Gallatin, 

Dear Sir: — Your favour of the 3rd November was 
duly received, the friendly declarations and approba- 
tions of my public services which it contain are very 
gratifying to me. Whatever may be the result of youT 
endeavors in my behalf I can assure you that my grati- 
tude will never be lessened, there iis however no office 
vacant in this state that I know of, nor any not vacant 
in Missouri that would be acceptable to nie. T had it 
long since in contem])lation to return to Pennsylvania 
and reside there permanently. Nothing has prevented 
me from effecting that intention but the business which 
I have on hand as executor testamentary of C. Lucas de- 
ceased which I expect to have closed and ended in short 
time. My youngest child being of age and all of them 
being able to provide for themselves, I feel no incon- 

54 



venience in changing my place of residence, and as to 
my views and pretensions to a public station, having 
property just enough to live agreeably to my taste and 
habits 1 don't look near so much for pecuniary advan- 
tages as for an honourable situation; I think that my 
pretension i.s fortifyed by the consideration of the vexa- 
tious and persecutious which I have endured during a 
long time toedious public service in obscurity and 
without any opportunity to gain credit for it except 
from you alone. I have not even received the full 
pecuniary compensation such as has been allowed to 
ihe land commissioners of the respective Boards in the 
T'y of New Orleans for similar services. (This allow- 
ance has been made since you have left the office of Sey. 
of the Treasury.) I therefore beg leave to repeat to 
you that unless I really am satisfyed that I am inferior 
in point of talents and character to my contemporaries 
and many of my juniors in i)ublic life who till now high 
stations, I ought to look for something better than the 
appointment which was offered to me some months 
ago or remain in private life. I should accept the ap- 
pointment of charge «S: affairs wherever there might be 
a vacancy in the courts of Europe. I am very well 
satisfyed and I hope upon enquiry you will not doubt 
that if I had not made my duty as a judge and specially 
as land commissioner par amount to every considera- 
tion of popularity and pecuniary benefit, I should have 
now a seat in the federal senate and should be possessed 
of considerable wt^alth, I auii sir. 

With great respect, etc., 



St. Louis, Augt. 18th, 1823. 
Albert Gallatin, 

Dear Sir: — I have heard with uiuch pleasure of your 
safe arrival from France, but if T nm correctly informed, 



oo 



you are in the tJ. S. only for a while. Sir, if you should 
go back again to France, I sliould be thankful if you 
would inform me some time before hand of your depar 
ture, expecting that you would be so good as to take 
charge of a packet for me, 

I should wish very much to know if any of m^' 
brothers have called upon you at Paris. Mr. John 
Jacob Astor, authorized me about three yean^ ago to 
draw upon him for .|750, agreeablj^ to the letter which 
I received from 3'ou at the same time. 

I lately received an appointment from the President 
of commissioner to ascertain claims and titles to lands 
in the territories of Florida. A multiplicity of reasons 
induced me not to accept it. 1 thought that unless I 
really was satisfied that 1 was infeiior in points of 
talents and character to many of my contemporaries 
and juniors in public life, who fill now high stations, I 
ought to look for something better or remain in private 
life. It is perhaps useless to inform you that my firm 
adhesicm to justice between the Spanish land claimants 
and the the U. S. has been to me a source of persecution 
and grief. 

We have been here overwhelmed for these few years 
pavst by numerous adventurers of desperate character, 
who have taken every ad\antage of the uuhai)py state 
of things. They have fanned the passions and male- 
volence of the land claimants against me to the highest 
degree. One of these miscreants hath picked a quarrel 
with one of my sons and has killed him in a duel. His 
name is Thomas Benlon. He is one of tlie federal sena- 
tors and has obtained the warm support of the land 
claimants, in consideration of the grievous injury he 
has done me and of having undertaken to procure the 
confirmation of the land claims. He is a lawyer. He was 



56 



emploved as tlicir a.i;ont before he was elected to the 
Heuate and was to receive for his eompcnsation a third 
or a fourtii of llic hinds if eoiifirined. His sj^eeehes in 
the Senate on tluU subject are <niite fallacious and out 
of the character of a senator. His (h'siuuK and villany 
have increased my zeal and watchfulness for the in- 
terests of the U. S. I have put many a senator and 
reprt^sentative on llieir i^uard against him. and he 
knows it. He has chariicd uie iiere with niakinji; secret 
couiniunicati<tns against the hiud < laiuiant.s and ueutral- 
iziiiji, his efforts. 

If you think that, all considered I have some reason- 
able claims to a particular regard from the •govern- 
ment, I hope you will be so good to suggest it to the 

President. 

Kespectfully, &c., 



St. Louis, Aug. 8, 1823. 
Hon. J. C. Calhoun, 

Sir: — The peace wliicli we liave enjoyed in Missouri 
and particularly at St. Louis, has always been since a 
great while, precarious and of short duration. It has 
only lasted so long as Benton and his confederates have 
been able to awe into silence the editors of public 
papers and their corresi)ondents. The attempts which 
have been made from time Id time to discuss in the 
papers various subjtMts (tf a jniblic nature, no matter 
how temperate, how fair, and liow (lecor<uis. have never 
failed to be attended with scenes of violence and blood 
if they operated in any shape against Benton or his 
associates. 

The violent death of Joshua Barton is the latest in- 
stance we have of the kind at St. Louis. Mr. Barton 

57 



was attorney of the TJ. S. for the district of Missouri. 
Seeiii«>- that liis brotlier David Barton was eried down 
for the vote lie had i»iven in the Senate against the 
nomination of Wm. Kector to fill the office of Surveyor 
of public lands for the State of Illinois, Missouri and 
Arkansas, undertook to publish a statenn nt of the pub- 
lic conduct of the surveyor in tlie Missouri Republican, 
printed at St. Louis, and justify the vote of his brother. 
Immediately after these, he received a (•hallent»e from 
one of the brothers of the surveyor. Me endeavored 
to avoid a duel by offeriu,s> to prove the truth of every 
part of the statement he had made, but this was of no 
avail. He nnu><t fi_nht. I am well satisticd that it was 
with the greatest reluctance he accepted the challenge, 
but from the well knowu violence of that party on 
former occasions it is generall}'^ believed, and for my 
part I doubt not that if he h;ul not fought then he would 
have been awsailed at the first opportunity and received 
a treatment worse than death. It is consolatory to see 
that these extremities have made the deepest impres- 
sion upon the public. It has roused it to the highest 
degree of indignation agaiust the surveyor and his 
abettons. The paragraph of Mr. B. under the name of 
Philo which was published in the Missouri Kepublican 
of the 25th of June, — has been republished in the other 
papers of the state and the public conduct of the sur- 
veyor is closely investigated and loudly censured under 
every respect. This a])peiins to be the commencement 
of a reaction from which the most beueticial effects may 
be anticipated. It may be proper to observe that like 
Chas. Lucas, Mr. B. was district attorney for the U. S., 
that he had not less disposition than C. Lucas to be 
watchful and do scrupupoutsly his duties, not only with 
respect to Indian agents, public surveyors, &c., but 



58 



with respect to Spanisli land claimants, in case a law 
slioiild be jjasscd t(» diroct them to biiiiii tlieii- claiins 
h('l(n-(' the ('(nirl of tlu' District of Mis.souii. This may 
the better ex|>bnn why tliey l)(<tli have ended in the 
same way, and liave been dispatched by the same set of 
men. As to myself, the same men have exhansted every 
means of annoyiince a.uainst nie short of actnal violence. 
They knew jx-rfectly well thai 1 was not a man to tam- 
per or compromise with, hence I uwt with their constant 
and strenuous oppovsition. They have not even blushed 
to contrive and circulate the report that I was a par- 
doned rebel in Pennsylvania and that I was elected to 
(Ntniirejss by the old stock of rebels. Permit me to i'e])eat 
to you that no man could have been more popular than 
me, and amass more wealth ]»rovided I had confirmed 
every claim, not exceedinii one league squaic and re- 
ported in favor of the other.'^. I ]H('sume to say ihat my 
services in Louisiana, since Missouri, have redounded to 
the i)ublic benefit, whilst they have been to me a real 
source of vexation and persecution. 

Respectfully, 

J. B. C. L. 



St. Louis, Jany. 7th, 1S24. 
Mahlon Dickenson, 

Letter to, statins; that ]>robably the official laud act 
of Will. Kector. surveyor, etc. will be enquired into by 
the Senate. I belii^ve that I). Barton is ju'ovided with 
all the miniments necessary to substantiate the charjjjes 
containe<l in the essay of the late Joshua Barton, attor- 
ney', etc. Rector has numerous ndations. Bold, they 
have heri^ofor*^ kejit in awe the defenseless and the 
timid. The influence which Wm. Rector has derived 

50 



from his office and relations induced liim to disreoard 
official restraints. I have nothini» to say as to the docu- 
ments senator Biirtou has taken with him, they will 
speak for themselves. The deceased Barton was dis- 
tinj^uished. The public opinion ran strongl}' against 
Rector. Barton has always been popular and is much 
more so since his opposition to AMctor in the Senate 
last session has become known here. Beutctn owes^is 
seat in the Senate chieMy to the influence of Victor. He 
would not retain it now if the people had it in their 

power to turn him out. 

Yours, etc., 



St. Louis, Jany. 7th, 1824. 
(Letter to the same as the preceding one to Mahlon 

Dickenson.) 
Eufus King, 

Yours, 



St. Louis, Sept. 11th, 1826. 
John H. Pleasant, 

Real Editor of Constitutional Whig. 
Mr. Editor:— The "Constitutional Whig'' of the 4th 
of Aug. came fortuitously into my hand not long since. 
The extracts wliich it contains from one of the numbers 
which have been published in the Missouri Republican, 
under the signature of a farmer, refers so immediately 
and pointedly to records and other documents which are 
in the liands of ])ublic officers in the same place where 
Mr. Benton resides and at tlie doors of his friends, that 
the author of those remarks or the editor who published 
them, instead of being an impudent dog only could not 
be less than a mad one if those extracts or any part 
thereof were false, but I assure you that direct, specific 

60 



and weighty as are these charges, neither Mr. Benton 
nor his friends liave dared to deny them, nlthough they 
I'.ave been rcjteatcdly cliJiIN'iiucd lo do it. They have 
icniaiiK'd iiml<'. Indeed they could not (h'liy or con- 
tradict them without tijlsilying the records of the two 
courtis and other imblic documents which stare in their 
faces. Thonms 11. Benton cannot shake off' tlie mass of 
tnrpitiKh' \vhi<h oveiw helms lum by any means short of 
;i mirai le. All that the editors of his process in Mi<;souri 
or probably himself have attempted to tsay by way of 
set off, is that ^[r. Lucas whom they pretend to be the 
author of these numbers is a maliciouis old man "who 
has a foot in the gravc^ and the other on tlie brink of it''. 
Marlv, they luive not ])resumed to vsay that he has stated 
anytliing falsely, and as to his being so near dissolution, 
if true, it would prove still more against them for the 
appalling sight of tlie grave and death has the strongest 
tendency to check or dispel malice and corruption, at 
any rate, the merit of the charge don't stand upon the 
faith of the author, and 1 don't know of any reason why 
my name should impair its effect. 

The press would be of little or no use in a free com- 
munity if from extreme delicacy such facts as those ad- 
verted to in the numbers if a farmer had remained un- 
noticed. The test has certainly been very unpleasaat 
to me, l)Ut there are civil duties that must control our 
natural inclinations. I liave lo'.ig time waited in expec- 
tation that some «Mie else wouhl save me that trouble, 
l;nt it has been in vain. The dang( r lias become so 
imminent that at last I have subdued my repugnancy 
and 1 ha\e gibbetted Thomas 11. Benton from conscien- 
tious motiv<'s and with the same feelings as if I had 
.ictually both leg.s in the grave. 

Your humble servant, 

JOHN B. C. LUCAS. 
61 



p. S. You are at liberty to publish this communica- 
catiou. I am known to several prominent characters in 
your state. This will satisfy them that 1 am still the 
same. (Not a half-way man.) 



December 1st, 1820. 
John Quincy Adams, 

Sir: — Beini> under the expectation that several of my 
friends at Wasliinnton have recommended me to the 
l*i'fisi(lciit to till the otHce of Jud<;(' of the District Court 
of tile r. S. for tile state of Missouri. 1 be«;' leave to 
direct your attention for a moment to the peculiar cir- 
cumstances wliicli I have been placed in since fifteen 
years that I am one of the superior judges in the terri- 
tory of Missouri, i have been under tlie disagreeable ne- 
cessity to check and resist numbers of the former favor- 
ites of the Spanish authorities who were little used to 
a fair and impartial administration of justice. 1 had 
to encounter many desperate and lawless characters 
from almost every part of the world and to contribute 
to make them feel tlu^ effects of k^j^al restraints. As 
land commissioner 1 liad to withstand the rapacity and 
fraud of many a laixl claimant. They have since trans- 
ferred considerable jiarts of their claims to influential 
American citizens and thereby have increased the means 
of annoying- me. 

They have endeavored to alarm the people by repre- 
senting me as an emancipator on the frivohtus pretext 
that I had suggested befoie the election for the conven- 
tion, the propriety of prcniding in the Constitution that 
no slaves should be imported fictni any state in the state 
of Missouri after ten years from the date of the Consti- 
tution. 

62 



XotwiflistMiidiiiii tlicir efforts and misroprpspntation, 
J had ail lionoiahlc siijtpoit in both houses as eandidate 
for the Senate of the l'. S. Out of six candidates T was 
next to Mr. Mentoii, who was elected by a majority of 
one. 

It it; beyond all kind of doubt that I had it in my 
}tower to make a colossal fortune and to secure to my- 
self an unrivalled ])opularity. 1 sincerely wish that 
the persecution whi( h I have endured from the land 
claimants, that my virtual self-denial of a «eat in the 
Senate, by undeviatinuly pnrsuinn the inteicst of the 
T". S. be not lost and un|)roductive to the public. A 
self-approvinji conscienee i)uts me out of the reach of 
all regrets. 

If I wish to obtain the appointment of judge, it is 
more for the |tur])ose of i)roving to my enemies in the 
state of Misiscuri that my services and fidelity to the 
U. S. are duly appreciated at Washington, than upon 
any other account. 

Respectfully, &c., 



St. Louis, January 4th, 1821. 
John Quincy Adams, 

Sir: — Having been lately informed that some of my 
friends at Washington l:ad made an api)lication to 
the President and to yoniself on my behalf for the ap- 
pnintment (d' judge (d" the District Onirt of the U. S., 
f(U' the Ntato (d" Missouri; having also had mystdf the 
li( noi to ridilrcss you a letfer to that effect, and expect- 
ing ev( 'r.\ o]»posiiion from Mr. Benton an<l also probably 
from Mr. liarton, senators from ^lissouri, in order there- 
fore, that you may the better understand and appre- 
ciate the disposition and tsentiments particularly of Mr. 



Barton, I here enclose vou a number of the St. Louis 
Enquirer, which contains an extract of a letter from 
him to the editor of that paper. 

I am perfectly satisfied that Mr. Barton Avould not 
have written such a letter had he been in hi.s senses. 
He must have been drunk then, as he often is, however, 
I have no doubt that it contains his genuine sentiments 
for "in vino Veritas". 

It is to be himcnted that our state be represented by 
such men, juid that the editor of the Enquirer be so lost 
to any idea of ])i'opriety and regard for the interest of 
his country as to give the letter publicity. The En- 
quirer is owned by Henry & Co. This company is 
avowedly and notoi iously Tiies. Ui utou, who has been 
the editor of that paper since ilie commencement of 
its publication until lie went to take his seat in the 
Senate. You may well imagine that he has used it as 
an electioneering engine for himself and friends, and yet 
he has been elected with the majority of one vote only, 
and in order to obtain it he Avent on the day of the elec- 
tion to one of the members of the House of Kepresen- 
tativeis who was in his bed dangerously sick and urged 
him to suffer to be carried to the house, to which he 
consented, contrary to tlie advice and n])inion of his 
physician. It is thought that this member was at that 
time i)artly out of his senses. As soon as his vote was 
given he was carried lo ^Ir. Benton's house, Avhere he 
died not long after. Tiie same member had the day be- 
fore the election r(M]uested me to take him to my house. 
1 told him that it was (»ut of my power tji do it. If J 
had consented to have him taken, I presume I could 
have had his vote if I wanted it. 

I received at my house at the same time, another 
member who was also very sick. Several friends of the 



(i4 



latter expressed a wish that he niijjht be carried to the 
house to ^ive his vote. He ap})eared aLso to be de- 
sirous to do il, but I oppased it, obsen'ing that I had 
•iivcu him lios])itality iu order to render his situation 
nioi'c conifoitablc than it would be had he remained 
iu a public house and to render his recovery more 
proiu|i! aud ui(u<' certain, that I would not suffer that 
he should I'xpose his life nor j^ive a vote which would 
render my motives doubtful and even induce many to 
(pieslion my intejirity. I ju-evailed upon his remaining 
trau(|uil iu liis beil. Sucli were the circumstances un- 
der wliicli 1 lost the election and Mr. Kenton gained it. 
This Mr, Benton has unrelentingly pursued Charles 
Lucas, a late son of mine, until he has brought him to 
the grave by shooting him down in a duel. The cause 
of the ( hallenge which Mr. Benton sent him was a mere 
pretext. The real motives were that he foresaw that 
the fair character and promising talents of Charles 
Lucas would stand in the way of his ambitious views 
and now he seems to reap the full benefit of his crime, 
being the counsel and agent of the Spanish land claim- 
ants and also as 1 believe intereisted in their claims. 
He had their full suppcnt whilst they most actively 
opposed me, as I had reported as commissioner, against 
a con.siderable number of their claims. 

Most respectfully, &c.. 



8t, Louis, October 27, 1821, 
(Not Sent,) 
•Tohu Quincy Adams, 

Sir: — Although I intimated you some time before this 
my desire to be appoiuteil judge of the District Court of 
the U. S. for the State of Missouri, I hope you will not 

65 



consider me to be importunate if I renew the applica- 
tion. I don't present myself with the ordinary moni- 
ments, viz: a recommendation with a long list of sub- 
scribers. Had I complimented the numerous and in- 
fluential holders of Spanish laud claims with the land 
of the U. S., where as commissioner I liad power to con- 
firm their claims and made a report in their favor in 
other cases, no doubt that T .should not be wantinp,' their 
support at this moment, nay I am sure that I should 
have had the offer of the 1st offices of the state, but 
as the local interest of many influential men of this 
state stands in direct opposition with that (against 
that) of the U. S. at least on a very important subject, 
they and the friends which they have at Washington 
are not the best qualified persons to recommend a fit 
character on this occasion particularly if we take into 
view that in case they cannot smuggle through their 
claims by some unguarded act of Congress their dernier 
resort will inevitably be to obtain the passage of an 
act to be authorized to bring their claims before a court 
of the U. S. which, I presume, they would wish to be 
the District Couil; of this state. Therefore, in order 
to enable you to judge of my qualifications I have 
chosen another course, and beg leave to refer you to 
divers acts of mine as an officer of the U. S. which are 
not less notorious than opposite. 

In the first place permit me to state that I have been 
for fifteen years a judge of the teri'itory of Missouri, that 
I was the senior judge in years and commission. 

2d, that, notwithstanding the difficulty of administer- 
ing justice, both from the uncertainty and complication 
of the laws which in contracts were French, in other 
cases Spanish, and likewise from the lawless and des- 
perate disposition of not a few of those who first emi- 



(iO 



grated from the U. S. and other parts, no specific charjje 
has btH'ii made ajxainst me. 

Hd, that I am a iiraduate in the faculty of hiwjs at flic 
uiii\n,sit\ of ("acii in Normandy and ha\<' with me my 
diphtmas. 

4ih, that 1 was dccnu'd tlie most competent juilue in 
all matters that arised under the Spani^sh and French 
laws, jind »'<|um1 to oi her judj^es in matters arisinjjj under 
the statute and the comuKui law. 

."►Ill, that as from the view 1 had taken of the Spanish 
laws ami Uf^a.ues concerniui; the distribution and dispo- 
sal of the former Spauiish domains in Louisiana it was 
my misfortuiH- not to he as favorable to land claimants 
as the other comujissioners were. I have brou<;lit ui)on 
me the redoubled resentment and vengeance of the 
Spanish land claimantK and of all others that have be- 
come interested in their claims. 

titli, that since we have become a state, every am- 
bitions and desii^ninu man, wliether concerned or not 
in the land elainis has seized on that opportunity to bear 
me down and ther<'by to ])ri'vent me from winning into 
c«)m])etition for iM)])ularity. To save details 1 beg k^ave 
to refei- you to the lion. Win. II. Crawford who had 
an opport unity to examine the genl. rept. of the commis- 
sioners and the sjjecial rept. on the claims to land con- 
taining lead mineral or salt springs. 1 also vvU'v you to 
a report of the S<'cvetary of the Treasury to the Presi- 
dent of the r. S. j»age S.") of an apitendix to a book styled 
Laws & Treaties .Jt Other Documents Having Operatiou 
I'v: Respect lo the Public Lands, collected and an-anged 
pursuant to an act of Congress passed April 27th, 1810. 
I beg also of you to take notice that I have resided dur- 
ing 21 years in Pennsylvania. That I was re-elected 
to the Ihh Conures-^ when I left it in 1805. For further 



67 



particulars of mj character there, I refer you to Mr. 
Lowrie. senator, or any other western member from 
Pennsylvania, and for my private or public character in 
Missouri I refer you to Messrs. Edwards, Thomas, and 
Cook from the state of Illinois. Their place of resi- 
dence is not more than 20 miles from St. Louis. I hope 
they are sufficiently acquainted witli the public char- 
acters of this state and yet sufficiently disinterested to 
do me justice. If after having discharged faithfully 
my official duties under the most trying circumstances 
I am discarded or neglected, I am apprehensive that 
such an example may produce the most pernicious con- 
sequences, especially with the former Spanish subjects 
who have become members of a free community, by 
accident perhaps, many against their will, and will 
also in a manner verify what I have been told often by 
land claimants "why don't you take the proper course 
to make us rich and yourself popular and rich also? 
The executive of the U. S. will not thank you for your 
rigid adhesion to what you deem to be right. State 
popularity, however ephemeral or spurious will mostly 
prevail." I hope you will attribute my apparent solici- 
tude to obtain the appointment to higher motives than 
mercenary considerations. I pledge my honor that if 
I had it I would not hold it longer than twelve months. 
I take the liberty, sir, to request you to show this letter 
to the president. 

I am, &c., 

N. B. — Mr. Bates, delegate from the territory of Ar- 
kansas may satisfy you on my standing in the state of 
Missouri. 



68 



November 9th. 1821. 
John (^iiiucj Adaius, 

Sir: — Ilaviuji hitely reeeive<^l information that it has 
Ix'en circuhited during the last session of Congress that 
I liad \vritt(^n to divers menihcis of Congre^ss from tlie 
iion-shn*' hohliug states and iiiloiiiied them that the per- 
sons opposed to slavery were getting in power in Mis- 
souri, — in order to induce them to hold out against the 
admission of this state into the Union and it is said 
that in eonse<|iieuee of this Missouri ivS hirgely indebted 
to me for the humiliation which she has been subjected 
last winter. I also understand that such report has 
been credited by some members from the slave holding 
states and perhaps by the president. Permit me, there- 
fore, to assure you and through you the president that 
these reports are utterly false; that I never have written 
anything to any person at Washington or elsewhere, 
directly or indirectly for or against the questions for 
authorizing the territory of Missouri to become a state 
or for admitting Missouri into the union; that I believe 
such reports have originated with the agents and part- 
ners of the Spanish land claimants at Washington, 
whose object is to injure my standing and reputation 
with the members from the south, and to induce the 
President to l>elieve that I am hostile to the best in- 
terests of the people of Missouri and that hostility is 
reciprocated in order to deter him fntni appointing me 
to the office of District Judge, and secure it to one of 
their favorites. Whether the President will appoint 
me or not to that office is of no great moment, but it is 
quite im]»ortant to the public not to let the Spanish 
land claimants or their partners have any of their 
creatures placed in that situation, as most probably 
they will have and expect to have their claims brought 



6» 



before the District C'oiirt of the U. kS. for the state of 
Missouri in case tliev caunot succeed in oettino- them 
confirmed by Congress in the hirap at some unguarded 
moments. 

I am well informed and believe that Mr. Benton is 
agent of the Spanish land claimantis; that he has an 
interest in tlie claims for his aoenc3\ I know that John 
Scott and Gov. Clark are owners of unconfirmed claims 
to a large amount; that Benton has incessantly advo- 
cated the Spanish land claims in the St. Louis En- 
quirer, of which he was until latelj^ one of the owners 
and editors. I know that the great object of my ene- 
mies at Washington is to overwhelm me with calumnies 
and persuade by every possible means the president and 
you that I am extremely popular if not odious in Mis- 
souri. Messris. Edwards and Cook whose place of resi- 
dence exceeds not 2~y miles distance from St. Louis, and 
who, of course, must know something of my standing 
and character, public or private, are best qualified to 
inform 3'ou of the true state of things as they are no 
parties to the jealou.sievs and dissensions of the citizens of 
this state. I hope they will do so; if the President has 
received unfavorable impressions I hope he will be 
undeceived. 

I am, &c., 

J. B. C. L. 

N. B.— I further declare that all the lauds which I 
own in the states of Missouri and Illinois does not ex- 
ceed 1000 acres, and that I have no unconfirmed claims. 



St. Louis, Jany. 24, 1823. 
Hon. J. Q. Adams, 

Sir: — I should have made to you much sooner the 
present communication had I not been prevented by 
sickness, for there is an impending danger, although 

70 



tiie subject don't anno within your department, t am 
nevertlieless persuadiMJ lliat as a citizen y(»u are always 
(Icsiions to contribute by any means lo guard the gov- 
ernment from any imjjositions wliatever. I know per- 
fectlj' the department to whicli the subject of land 
claims belon^iS, but as I am well satisfied thm* the 
Spanish land claimants and the delegation of our state 
in rongress, which I might say are identified, will sup- 
port Mr. Crawford for President if they cannot carry 
Mr. Clay. The former is placed in a delicate situation 
might not be as an efficient check on the present occa-. 
sion as could be wished. 

Perhaps you may already be informed that the 
Spanish land claims in Missouri and Arkansas, which 
have been reported against by the former Board of 
Comniissionens, and by the Recorder of land titles, &c., 
are numerous and to a great amount that they are frivo- 
lous generally and most of them null ab initio. The 
interest and influence of the land claimants, which was 
originally great, has been much increased and enhirged 
by not a few transfers of claims in whole or in part, 
to persons of weight and influence in Missouri, Ken- 
tuck}', Tennessee, «&c. In fact, the influence of these 
land claimants has become such Lhat it is through them 
that Messrs. Benton and Scott have been elected to 
Congress. Mr. Barton is the only one that has a sub- 
stantial popularity and a standing based upon the 
public opinion. 

It is indubitable that Mr. Scott is himself a land claim- 
ant. He stated it so once in his electioneering hand 
bills. I know one «tf his claims in particular. Mr. Ben- 
ton was the counsel and agent of the land claimants 
before he was in the Senate. He drew their petitions, 
&c. Besides retaining fees, he had contingent one to 



71 



be paid in definite qnantities of land. Tlie statements 
and argnmenls whicli lie made and urged before the 
Senate on the land bill which he reported last year were 
the mere devices of a lawyer and entirely out of the 
character of a senator, Tlis private circumstances are 
desperate. He owes to every body and pays no one. 
After many promises and come off, he was sued on his 
return from Washington last year for the wine he had 
used at his table when he entertained the members of 
the legislature before his election to the Senate. He 
is found to be indebted to tlie Bank of Missouri for up- 
wards of 111,000. Scott is for |10,000, partly to the 
Bank of Missouri, partly to its branch at Sle. (Jenevieve. 
He was a noted puffer of the Missouri Bank until its 
failure. They owe more llian their property is worth, 
indeed, property commands hardly anything here. 

Benton and Scott have charged Messrs. Edward and 
Cook from Illinois with having used their influence with 
you to prevent drey, their man, from being appointed 
Judge of the District Court of the U. S. in Missouri. 
However you have lost nothing with them. You were 
objectionable to them at any time and under any cir- 
cumstance. They belong to that description of per- 
sons who seize every opportunity to bear down and 
abuse all eastern men without discrimination. They 
grant no truce nor peace to what they call a Yankee un- 
less he denationalize himscdf and adopt a course of 
which he would blush at in his native state. 

Mr. Benton must have been sorely affected when he 
was under the necessity of introducting last year to 
the Senate a bill on the Spanish land claims providing 
that these claims should be referred to the judiciary 
for decision. I am well satisfied that he had a radical 
objection to this clause of reference. I saw the bill as 



72 



it stood wlioii i'('])(>rto(l. T notic('(] in it a variety of 
sulxudiiijitc provisions calcuhitcd to circumvent and 
ovcr-rcacli, Tlicrc wa^s also a principle interpolated 
which is entirely foreij^n to Spanish laws and regula- 
tions and wonid infMllibly have tranim<dled the (piestion 
of Spanisli law. lla[>i»ily I saw after I hat the bill had 
I'eceived several aniendnicnls wiiich certainly were 
a»;ainst the will of Mr. Henlon. 

1 am incdined to belie^(' that he would have voted 
aj^ainst the final passaj^e of the bill, was it not that he 
wanted to have the ajjpearance and name at home to 
have done sonu't liinii and i have no donbt but that lie 
su<»«ested to Mr. Scott to introduce material amend- 
ments to the bill before the committee to which the 
House of Kepresentativeis had referred it, and not urge 
its final jtassage in oitb'r to avoid a defeat. 

.Mr. Scott is eutiicly under the intiuence of Mr. Ben- 
ton. Il(^ is his echo. 

It ivs to be sui)posed that a bill more suitable to the 
land claimants will be reported this S(\s.sion, probably 
in the House of liepresentatives. They will endeavor 
to avoid a reference to a court of justice by any means 
whatever. They will watch the opportunity to take the 
house by surprise, probably towardsfi the end of the tses- 
sion. 

Not only a reference to the judiciary is absolutely 
necessary, but the judges ought to be untramelled, the 
mode of proceeding in court, the effect of decisions, 
ought to be perfectly the same as they are in ordinary 
cases between individuals. 

The bill introduced last year before the senate by 
Mr. Bentoii ua.s certainly over-reaching. No claims 
ought to be referred to courts but those actually en- 
tered on record with a due notice according to the sev- 



73 



oral arts of Conutoss passed from time to time on that 
subject. I am well satisfied that no regnhir Spanish 
registry was kept of Spanish conoessionis issued in that 
part of the province now included in Missouri and Ar- 
kansas for the bust six or seven ycvirs preceding the sur- 
render of the province by the Spanish goveinment, that 
the registry exhibited of concessions made <luring that 
time is spurious. Tf the bill sh<»uld embrace any other 
claims but those recorded it woubl be providing for 
claims not actually made upon the U. S. it would be 
granting ultra petitum. 

You have it in your power to render a particular ser- 
vice to your country in giving a timely warning to your 
friends in both houses of Congress on that weighty sub- 
ject. 

Permit me to observe that beside the great injury the 
U. S. would receive should Messrs. Benton and Scott 
succeed in procuring the passage of a law on the land 
claims suitable to their views, the state of Missouri 
would be incumbered and annoyed with men of colossal 
fortunes, who, among other evils would have it in their 
power to keep a considerable part of the country wild 
and unsettled and would exercise that power until they 
should obtain such prices as they would set upon their 
lands. Benton, Scott and their party would be enabled 
to bear down and crush more and more, every independ- 
ent man, and as to myself ,T should be rewarded for my 
fidelity to the U. S. with every indignity which a set of 
tyrannic and triumphant upstarts should think proper 
to make me endure. I am, 

Respectfully, &c., 



St. Loiiis, Aug. 1st, 1823. 
(Sent hj <lu[)licate.) 
Qnnicy Adams, 

Sir: — The coimnission from the President to me for 
asc(M*taiiiiii<; claims and titles to lands within the terri- 
tories of Floiida, to^<'thei- with your letter of the 3d 
iillo. inhivsiiio me of the same have been duly i-cceived. 
Altlioujih I have the ha])piness to enjoy a reasonable 
share of health and vij^or, man}' a eonsideratiou, how- 
ever, prevents me to accept the appointment. 
I have the honor to be sir, 

With great respect, &c.. 



St. r^uis, Feby. 8 or 15, 1827. 
J<din (^iiincy A<himis, IMcsident. 

Althouj^h I am fully convinced that the French and 
Spanish land claims or any ri.i»ht or title on which they 
arc grounded n<'ver can be made more secure before 
any other tribunal than they arc already under, an act 
entitled ''An Act, cKic., Fnabliui; Lnnd Claimants to 
Institute Proceedin<is, ^:c." 

Although I am seriously api)rehensive that the land 
claimants look for something more than justice, that is 
for a donation under the c(dor of contirmation, and that 
they are conscious they aic undone if they can get noth- 
ing more than their due. Although I have done all I 
could during thiis session to alarm several members of 
Congress and ]»ut them on their guard against the evils 
an<l artifice of Mr. Benton and other agents and part- 
ners in the French and Spanish lau<l claims, and my 
most earnest wish is that no change be made in the 
present legal provisions on that subject. Nevertheless, 



o 



in as much as it is liere reported that an act is goino; to 
pass for renio\ iug these chiinus from a court of law to a 
special tribunal or Board of Commissioners, being con- 
scious that from the knowledge I have obtained on 
this subject as a former land commissioner I am i)er- 
hapvS better pie])ared than many others to act again on 
those claims, I beg lav(^ to inform you, that in th*^ 
event of a passage of such an act I should have no ob- 
jection to be appointed one of the commij^siouers. You 
may well be aware that Mr. Benton and other agents 
of the land claimants will take good care by discreet 
means or circumvention to have such persons recom- 
mended for these situations as are disposed to confirm 
anything. 1 know ver3' well I am the last man they 
would wiish to see in such a Board. 1 assure you, how- 
ever, that I harbor no hatred nor prejudice agaiUiSt the 
land claimants, far from it, I had to combat my own 
feelings when I reported at a former period opinions 
against the claims that remain unconfirmed. T]»e orig- 
inal claimants are most all of French origin, speaking 
French and retaining French manners. They had a 
partiality' for me. They were ready to load me with 
favors. Mr. Benton would have been put on the back- 
ground, perhaps for ever, if I had been willing to sacri- 
fice my duties to my cupidity and ambition. It cannot 
be expected that Congreiss would refer those claims 
once more to a Board of Commissioners without estab- 
lishing new criteria to decide by. I should respect 
them whatever they might be. 

The Secy, of the Treasury is the sole person beside you 
to whom I have made a similar intimation. 

I am, 

Respectfully, &c., 



76 



(Date not well roinombered, — perhap.*; Sept. or Oct., 

1820.) 

'I. A»lani>. PiM'sidcnt of ilic V. S. 

Sir: — I. est ilic result ol llic lasl election in the state 
of .Missouri slicnld lead yon to erroneous conclusions, I 
have thoiiuhl it niij^ht be nsef'ul to snufiest to yon my 
«)\vn relh'cliiins on the sanu' ^subject. Premising' that 
.John Scott h;iil originally no weiuht <if character, nor 
the rejtnlaiion of ;» man of abilities, notliinj;" but the 
force of ;i party could laise him to a seat in Connress. 
His )»opnlarity had much (h'clined at the election. Be- 
fore the last he lijid bnl a very small majority over his 
opponent who \\as by no means formidable. All cir- 
cumstances attendinii tlie last election satisfy me that 
his popularity was just worn out and extinct, indeed, 
his vole in your faxiu' liJive him more friends than 
enemies. However, it has hapi)ene<l that a j^reat many 
friends of yoni- adminiistiation have denied him their 
support in consideration j»articnlarly that he had been 
generally too dependent of Mr. Benton, and had pre- 
served with th(>' latt(r e\cn after this one had de- 
nounced jind exposed him fi)V the vote he had uiven for 
]iresident, l;ii: the ureatis! cause of Mr. Scott's failure 
was I hut his opponent was also friendly to your elec- 
tion, and is favorable to youi' administiation, as a more 
ellicient o]>ponent to Mr. I>enton to whom he has alwa.ys 
been hostile; ]»ossess l)ett( r abilities, is a better man- 
ager, «S:c., and I am well sMtislied that Mr. Benton would 
s.ione?' have wished to see Mr. Scott elected, had it not 
been lor I lie uttainment of the favorite object, to-wit, 
to sustain his repeated assertion that Mr. Scott's vote 
in your favor is rejtrobated by the people of Missouri, 
thus Mr. Benton's triumj^h is extremely limited. 



1 < 



Many think it probable that the next legislature will 
be favorable to the re-election of Mr. Benton to the 
Senate. It has circulated through the state not less 
than 5tM)0 pamphlets containiug his speech on the gradu- 
ation of the prices of the public lauds. This is a most 
proper subject to excite the liveliest interest among 
the farmers. It has produced a considerable effect in 
his favor, however, the best informed and most inde- 
pendent pait (if the community are not gulled, they 
liold onr firmly against him; they daily exjxise the 
fallaciousuciss and impeachability of his schemes. The 
most s( lions cliarges Lave been bruught against him in 
three numbers under the signature of "a farmer". He 
and his friends have been repe:itedly challenged to 
deuA' them. They have remnim d muto. Mis character 
is prostrated, ^lany of his friends are staggering and 
apparently ashamed. He daily loses ground with that 
part of the community which is not immediately at- 
tached to a party. His adherents charge me with be- 
ing the author of those numbers. I have neither con- 
fessed nor denied it. 1 keep something more in reserve 
for him before the legislature proceed to the election of 
a senator. 

Had I, as many do. preferred popularity to principle 
and ofticial duties. I might have been easily elected 
to the Senate of the V. S. five years ago, and could be re- 
elected now, lm( having as a former land commissioner 
reported against many French and Spanish laud claims, 
having at the solicitation of the District Judge and tlu- 
District Attorney argued in behalf of the V. S. nearly 
two years ago an important Spanish land case, and thus 
vindicated the opinions which I had formerly given as 
land commissioner, having succeeded in obtaining a 
decree in that case in favor of the U. S. which is the 



78 



fiKst and makes a dreadful precedent having also ex- 
l)oise(l llie turpitude of Mr. Benton, I had both the 
friends of the latter and the land chiiniants with all 
their dependents to encounter as a candidate for the 
le«;islature at tin' hist (Section, notwithstandinj* all these 
I had a rcsjM'ctabh^ minority. 

Altlion<»h Mr. Kenton has represented tlie executive 
patronage to be so dangerous in its consequences as to 
justify tlic necessity to report several bills to curtail 
it. it happens, however, that he wields at pleasure the 
l)oiitical force of the otticers of the <2,eneral .government 
who are located amongst us, they all. except Judge 
Peck and Bate^s supported the ticket favorable to Ben- 
ton's re-election. The superintendent of Indian affairs 
did not vote at all but all his dependents were for Ben- 
ton's ticket and himself is entirely devoted to Benton. 
On his return from ^Vashin5iton last spring, he spread 
the report that Benton occupied the first rank in the 
Senate. That he was talked of as likely to become 
president in the course of time. This Wm. Clark has 
nothing to recoinmend him personally except his trip 
to the Pacific Ocean. He knew so little of his duty as 
Indian agent as to be publicly concerned in Indian 
trade, and was actually president of a Furr Company 
and trading up the .Missnuri in ISOS and ISOO whilst he 
was Indian agent. Ih^ also ke])t Indian goods for sale 
at liis store in St. Louis. It was him who had lai<l the 
j)Ian of a niililaiy ex[)edition from St. Louis to Prairie 
Duchien in 1S1:> and 1814. lie caused a very large 
boat to be built which he manned with a large crew. 
-Many id' them had ^'20 pay p(r month. He took care to 
\\;\\v his nephew Ben O'Fallon with a boat following 
him as suttler. who swept all the money of the crew. 
He erected a fort at Prairie Duchien which was taken 



79 



b.v the British a few months after. The latter anuoyed 
(»nr force at the Kapids of Misc^issippi with the very 
same aitiUerv whifh they had taken from us at the 
Prairie Ducliien and no <»ue was benefited by that ex- 
pedition but (ienl. Clark liis nephew & Co. 

If I am correctly inforuKMl, the Indian agents have 
generally been api)ointed at the recommendation of 
Genl. rhu'k. Those offices are filled with his nephews, 
brothers-in-hiw, or other friends and dependents. They 
are mostly h)iterini> at home and are nearly ^sine cur(\ 
He stands in such relation with them that he cannot 
demiuiici' ilieiii wlien they lack (iT due attendance he 
is not a pio])( !• check. There is a great yield of hypo 
crisy practiced among the officers of the general gov- 
ernment here. They are the friends of general admin- 
istration in wortls. They are its enemies in deeds. 

It is understood here that Benjamin O'Fallon, who 
has not been at his post this great while, is going to re- 
sign his Indian agency. If so, permit me to suggest, 
that in my ()])iniou ^Ir. Clark's recommendation to fill 
tliat vacancy ought nol to be attended, and in doing 
so there would be a double benetit for the incumbent 
would not be de])en(leHt of Mr. Clark, uor would he ex- 
pect any indulgence from him. Messrs. Bates and Bar 
ton are among the few that may be safely depended, 
ui)on for information. 

There is, I believe, no state in the union where the 
inriuence of military uiiMi is more felt than in Missouri. 
Beside the otticers actually belonging to tlie army, we 
have a great nmny disbanded with their es])irit de corps 
in full vigor they amount to something considerable, 
relatively to (Uir thin population. They are all de- 
voted friends of Jackson and Benton. Tljey were all 
but one against me at the last election. It is impos- 



80 



sible for you to humor them by liborality or forboar- 
ancc. We have one of them, John OTaUon, nephew of 
Win. (lark, formerly aid de camp to Genl. Harrison. 
11,. has accuutnlated wealth as sutler at the Couneil 
Khitr. lie has been succeeded by (leo. Kennerly. for- 
merly ortieer in the army, broth«M-indaw of Clark, sub- 
aoeiit, \'c. \\v is another creature of Benton, Jackson, 
&(•., he is niakinii iiiHch iiumey as sutler. 

I have from various cireumstances reason to suspect 
that there is a Hauitious <-ollusion practiced between 
the sutlers aiul the otheers. The goods are sahl to be 
fharo-ed to the officers at a very low price, whilst the 
soldiers have to pay very high. I am informed that 
whilst Mr. OTallon was sutler he was allow^ed to charge 
the soldiers twenty per cent more than usual on the 
price of mere handise. On his suggestion that he had 
.lost some goods by sinking of a boat on the Missouri. 
It is in consequence of such fraudulent practices and 
oppression that the discharged scddiers cry down the 
service in the army, prevent at all times and particu- 
larly in time of war the army from being recruited to 
the necessary number and with young men of good 
character. TImmv is another way of imposing ui)on the 
s^oldiers,— it is by allowing sutlers to sell on credit. 
The soldiers are not permitted to dispute the accounts 
of sutlers against them although they may be fraudu- 
lent. The officers never fail to to interfere in favor of 
the sutlers. It seems to me that sutlers ought to be 
admitted as other contractors an offering to sell on 
,1„. .heMi.est terms in order to obviate the evils ansing 
frou. ih.' i.artiality of officers in favor of sutlers. All 
persons that held at any time a commission in the army 
ought to be dis(iualificHl from being sutlers. Perhaps 



81 



it would be expedient that sutlers should iiive securitv 
rhat they shall keep a proper assortment, &c. 

Among the various schemes made use of bv Mr. 
Benton during the canvass of the last general election, 
a petition has been circulated among the Spanish land 
claimants intended to be presented to a'Ou in order to 
induce you to recommend in yi)ur next message to Con- 
gress that the land claims be submitted to one or more 
commissioners to report thereon to Congress on the 
ground that it is oppressive to compel clainmnts to 
institute suits before the District Court of the U. S. 
for Missouri as is now provided by law. These claims 
have already been referred once to a Board of Commis- 
sioners whose report is lodged in the general land office. 
Another part of these claims have since been referred 
to the recorder of land titles at St. Louis. The laud 
claimants have already been dealt with most liberally. 
They have had great yield, — more land than confirmed 
than could be justified by the French and Spanish laws 
under which their claims originated. There is no way 
of getting rid of the claims which remain unconfirmed 
but by judicial adjudications or by confirming them all 
at once. The quantity for which suits are now insti- 
tuted before the District Court is not less than a million 
of arpens of choice land. If all of it was given away, 
all the expense which government has been at to have 
a discrimination made of the legal claims from the 
illegal ones, would be lost. Fraud and perjiiry would 
receive a high premium, and Mr. Benton who has acted 
in the capacity of their agent at Washington at the 
same time that he sat as a senator, would have ther(d)y a 
large fortune secure, whilst I who have sacrificed popu- 
larity, peace and all social comfort for more than twenty 



82 



years, to my sense of duty to the U. S. would be the 
lauiiliinii stock and scorn of all. 

That VMu may have somethino- more than my word to 
satisfy you that I have used my earnest endeavors to 
defend the iiilcrcst of the U. S. as land commissioner, 
I here enclose a letter of Mr. (hillatin to me. ackiiowl- 
edi»inj>" it. I also eiichtse a pamphlet containinji; th(^ sub- 
stance of an argument which T have delivered before 
the District (Nmrt of the U. S. 

My ajxjlojiy for addressinj* you thit< letter is that it 
I'elale.s to a subject whici) concerns you personally and 
is somewhat connected with other matters thonoli of a 
])ublic nature, which I wish to communicate to you con- 
fidentially. 

I have the honor to be, sir, &c.. 



February 2d, 1820. 
James Alcorn, 

Sir: — The paper here enclosed, viz: answer in Missouri 
(lazette to writer from Carondelet. Suggest him to 
a])i)ly to have answer published in National Intelligen- 
cer. Assurance thai everything will be done here by 
publications or otliej* j)ossible means. Evei-y one here 
believes tliat Mackay is the author of th« letter. Land 
of Missouri offered for sale at door of Congress. Some 
other thing than money is looked for payment. 



2d May, 1825. 
(Certificate in favor (vf James H. Adrian.) 
Having heeii acijiiainted with Mr, James H, Adrian 
of St. Chailes County from his tender age, and also hav- 
ing for these last 15 years seen and heard of him occa- 
isionally, I seize with pleasure this opportunity of stat- 

83 



ing that I believe him to be an active and enterprizing 
man who has been particularly useful during last war 
in a military capacity and as a woodsman on the fron- 
tiers, and that he is well qualified from his discretion, 
judgment and experience to discharge the duties of 
Indian agent or fill any other situation connected with 
Indian affairs. 

J. B. C. L. 



St. Loui«, 3d March, 1824. 
D. Barton, Senate, 

Sir: — Your favor of the 28th Jany. last, enclosing a 
bill, &c. was duly received. Owing to indisposition, X 
was unable to write to you on the subject to which it 
refers, by the mail preceding this. 

My opinion upon this bill or any other public subject 
is of little weight or importance at any time, and still 
less so when the Senate of IT. S. have provided upon it. 

I think with yon that the U. S. are not bound to enter 
their courts as a party against the Spanish land claim- 
ants. There are however two considerations that would 
have induced me to prefer the adjudicating of claims. 
The 1st is because the interest of the IT. S. would be 
more safe in a court of law. The 2nd because the claim- 
ants being in a manner strangers and claim inir under a 
right which had originated under their former sovereign 
and having become dependent of the U. S. without 
their previous consent, there has been by the transfer 
a kind of violence committed upon their rights, agree- 
able to our own tlieories and principles concerning the 
rights of men, which Ave ought to endeavor ,to attone 
for by treating their, if possible, claims to land rights 
with a greater respect and tenderness tlian those of the 
ancient citizens, bv makinii the U. S. descend on a level 

84 



with them as parties in a court of justice and thus leav- 
ing- tlieiii not even a shadow of reason to coniphiin in 
the cases wliere their chiinis may be dechired illegal 
or otherwise insufficient. I make no doubt but that 
you believe that their complaints in case their claims 
were rejected by a recorder, however unfounded, would 
or iiiiiiht bear a color of durcfj^s which it would not have 
had they been rejected by adjudication. 

The bill or project of Mr. Benton was in my opinion 
(piite objectionable. The provision that you have in- 
troduced in the 3d Sect, was very necessary and is a 
corrective nuuh beneficent, I should wonder that 
such an amd't could have been resisted by Mr. Benton, 
knowing as he perfectly does that the country is greatly 
sutt'eriug from the chasm and disconnection of settle- 
ments produced by numbers of immense tracts thus 
claimed and remaining in a state of wilderness and not 
bearing a due proportion t)f tax, having also under his 
own eyes a memorial of the legislature of Missouri 
which he has presented to the Senate during the session 
preceding this and which states fully the grievances 
resulting from these claims remaining so long unde- 
cided, and prays that provision be made by law to have 
them brought before a competent tribunal in order that 
they be finally decide<i. Considering all these I say 1 
should wouder at the opposition of Mr. Benton had I 
not long before now made a just estimate of the man. 

Respectfully, 



St. Louis, May 25. 
Lewis MaVtin, 

(Letter to, concerning his negro Jack.) 



85 



Jany. 30th, 1825. 
David Barton, 

Sir: — Tlit^ documeuts which voii have directed to me 
have been received. 1 return you my thanks for your 
polite attention. 1 know of no occurrence in this part 
of the countr}' Avorth mentioning. The protraction of 
the session of the legishiture seems to create a consider- 
able uneasineiss particularly among the farmers of the 
county of St. Louis on the ground of expense, &c. The 
opposition to 3'our election for the Senate has created a 
considerable excitement amongst the members of the 
legislature and many other persons. It has elicited a 
loud expression of feeling and sentiment quite unfavor- 
able to the prospects of ^Ir. Mciitun. They appear to be 
foreruQuers of his political downfall. It is not worth 
while noticing his adjuncts. They are now a nonentity, 
vixeruut. I make no kind of doubt but Benton let no 
opportunity escape to misrepresent my standing in Mis- 
souri. You have had f(U' about two years past, great 
opportunity to improve your knowledge of man. If you 
have gained much that way you certainly have paid 
dear enough for it. I hope that you will consent to be 
explicit and say frankly on proper occasions to Messrs. 
Monroe and Adams what you think of me generally, 
and what place I seem to occupv in the public opinion. 

Respectfully, &c.. 



St. Louis, Feby. 24, 1826. 
David Barton, 

Sir: — Mr. E. Bates having come out as a candidate for 
representative in Congress, the oftice of District Attor- 
ney will become vacant, if he should be elected. If you 
had not formed any previous engagement with another 

86 



applicant and should Wni. Lucas be deemed by you 
<|ualifi<Ml to till IliMt ollicc, yon would do me a particular 
favor in reconmicndini; him to the president for that 
situation. 

There is nothing that I know of in our part of the 
conntiy worth nicntionlntj,. You, no doubt, know that 
Mr. r.cnton's iiiidcrlinL^s are doinjj; tlieir best to injure 
you in tiu' public opinion, by circulating- any kind of 
tales. Mr. Benton, however, if fully retaliated upon as 
you have seen in several numbers of the Republican. 

Very respectfully, &c., 



About 5th February, 1828. 
David Barton, 

(Answer to Mr. Barton on the merits of bill reported 
to Senate, 0th Jany., 1828, for the final settlement of 
claims to land, &.c.) 

I have (Stated my objections to the principle of the 
bill. I have suoji,ested in case the principle should be 
retained various amendments to render it as little dan- 
gerous and offensive ajs possible. 1 iiave hinted that 
should such a bill pass with the clause that any paper 
such as concession would be prima facia evidence 
would lay the onus of proving a negative upon the 
U. S. whilst the rejection by the Board of Commission- 
ers ought to be a prima facia evidence that the docu- 
ments exhibited were unavailing in law and otherwise 
insuttlcient beside the general ])rinci])le that the onus 
proband! lies upon the plaintiff. 1 have suggested also 
the want of judicial responsibility of commissioners. 
The great temptations to which they would be ex])osed 
that should the land claimants succeed the los^^ to the 



87 



tJ. S. is incalculable. A revolution in property would 
follow. Some of the worst men in sdciety, Benton for 
example, whom by this time he must be able to appre- 
ciate. 



January 15th, 1820. 
Philip B. Barbour, 

From the inliiuate knowle<lge wliicli as a former laud 
commissioner in the territory of Missouri I have ob- 
tained of the Spanish claims to land in the former pro- 
vince of Louisiana, and the laws and usat>es under 
which the Spanish goyernmeut distributed land to its 
colonists, I am perfectly satisfied that Congress has 
been very liberal under every r«'isi)e(t in iis leoishition 
and that all claims that were either legal or equitable 
or possessed any merit liowever remote, have been satis- 
fied and confirmed except a very few indeed which 
have been the subject of a special report as containing 
lead mines or salt springs. Had Congresis provided 
for these few < laims either by exchange of an equal 
quantity of land not containing lead minesi or salt 
springs, or by confirmation complete justice would have 
been done, but things have taken another course, and 
a most ample provision has been made by an act of the 
12th of April, 1814, in favor of a description of claims 
which possess no kind of merit in law or equity, and in 
doing" this Congress has departed from the cardinal 
points upon which the best rights of U. S. to the na- 
tional domains in the former province of Louisiana 
turns, and from its aberralions the laud claimants thus 
favored have received a new encouragement to press 
and urge the confirmation of the residue of their claims, 
not failing at the same time to argue a pari with some 
plausibility or speciousuess. 

88 



Your parliamentary experience lias no doubt lonjjj 
before now enabled yoii, sir, to notice that whilst one 
or two of the most prominent subjects of legislation 
seem to absorb at every session the attention of all the 
members of Couiiress to such a de<;r<M' that the »speakers 
on those occasions stand, as it were, in the way of each 
other, and the (h-bates become almost endless, ihere 
are other subjects by no means unimijortani, altho 
perhaps less entertaining or less attractiui* the ])ublic 
attention, which are little or not at all understood by a 
^I'cat many, and whose fate often depends ui)on such a 
report as the committee t(( whom the subject is re- 
ferred may think proper to make. 

Being persuaded from the reputation yon enjoy, that 
3'ou are induced to serve your <'ountry from much 
higher motives than tlie mere display or show of useful- 
n<'ss. 1 beg lea^c to submit to you a few remarks in 
order that 3'ou may be the better enabled to meet the 
Spanish land claimants in the course of the present 
session. If we judge from the number of pei"sons in- 
tereste<l in these claims that have left St. Louis to 
attend the pres<Mit Congress we would be induced to 
believe that they are perhaps going to make greater 
efforts than ever. If we should trust to their late decla- 
rations, we w(Hild be induced to believe that they are 
more sanguine of success than they ever have been be- 
fore. Probably the subdivision which they have made 
of late date of their largest claims, by sale, among in- 
tluential men of the west is what renders them so con- 
tident. 

In turning to the files (»f the llonse of Representatives 
it will be found that there are thi-ee bills coiiceining 
these claims wiiich remain among the uutinished busi- 
ness. The first of them was reported on the 10th of 



89 



February, 1818, and is entitled "A Bill Snpplementarj- 
to the Several Acts for the Adjustment of Land Claims 
in tlu^ State of Lonivsiaua and Territory of Missouri." 
I was then at Washington. Seveial eonspieuous mem- 
bers were timely alarmed. The bill whose eonsetjuen- 
ces would have been ruinous to the U. S. was seen under 
its proper colors. Its few frieud^s became so sensible 
of the fate that awaited il that th(\v adopted a most ex- 
traor<linary course by ni(»vin_i» a r(d'erenc(^ of the whole 
subject matter of it to the Secretary of the Treasury. 

In pursuance of that reference I am informed that 
the Secy, made a report at the last session, of a bill 
whose iioverning principle is that the Spaniish land 
claimants, under certain regulations shall be sent to 
courts of justice, and stand there on a level with the 
U. S. on the score of their claims. 

I am likewise informed that the committee on pub- 
lic lands also reported a bill at the last isession pursuing 
the same principle. The land claimants, except a very 
few, avs I said before, whose claims are for laud contain- 
ing lead mines or salt springs, knowing perfectly that 
their claims cannot bear judicial scrutiny, have used 
their best endeavors to keep back these two last bills, 
and I am credibly informed that altho they make a 
great noise and assert very confidently that the treaty 
between the TJ. S. and France of 1803, secures their 
rights from any violation, yet they dread nothing so 
much as to come before a comstirutional tribunal and 
have there those very same rights ascertained, so much 
so that some of the best informed among them have 
declared that altho their present claims have remained 
for fifteen years undecided, they would be willing to 
wait fifteen years more sooner than to have their claims 
referred to courts of justice. 



90 



The wli(»l(' (Icpeiulauce of the laud claimants uow 
rests upon tiieir favorite bill of February lOtli, ISIS. 
There is uo <loul)t with uie but that tlie.v will li<' <"»i> 
their oars and never will press their bills upon Hie 
house but when the.v will believe that the alarm has 
subsided or when they will find the house so thin and 
so eompoised as to aft'oid fair hopes of success. 

Congress, in its seveial acts of le<j;iiSlation from the 
24 of March, ISO.-), until the 2d of August, 1S13 in- 
clusively, had been invariably "governed by two lead- 
ing principles, viz, that no concessions or «)rders of sur- 
vey had any leiial effect or created any obligation on 
the U. 8. unless they were issued i)rior to the first of 
October, ISOO (the date of the treaty of 8t. Iblefonso) 
and were duly registered, which evidently meant on 
a Spanish registry. The act of the 12th of April, 1814, 
entitled "An Act for the Final Adjustment of Laud 
Titles in the State of Louisiana and Teiritory of Mis- 
*;ouri" is the first that has departed from Ihovse princi- 
ples, thus the most dangerous inroads on the rights of 
the U. S. to the former Spanish Koyal Domains in 
Louisiana have been made. 

The pretension (tr powei- of the French or Spanish 
governuH'uts to grant or give away the uaticuial domain 
in Louisiana, not only after the 1st of Oct., 1800, but 
even so late as the 10th of March, 1804, has been 
acknowledged by Congress, so that tlu^ pretended con- 
cessions, wariants or ordens of survey for laud made 
by the Spanish Ciuumandants at St. Louis, in (]uantities 
not exceeding a league square, for and during more 
than three years after Si)aiii had parted with the right 
of domain, have become obligatory on the T"^. S. This 
prostration of priuci[»le has produced such ruinous con- 
sequences as to legalize in the Territory of Missouri the 



91 



concessions or orders of survey issued by the Spanish 
commandant during nearly three months after the U. S. 
had taken formal i)ossession of the province of Louisi- 
ana, altho liis sovereign had ceased in right and fact to 
exercise any power or jurisdiction over the province, 
and he (the commandant) was under no kind of respon- 
sibility, then, neither to his sovereign nor to the U. 8. 

Let it be remarkcMl that the Spanish Land office for 
the province of Louisiana had been closed several years 
before, that the power of granting land had, by a royal 
ordinance dated at St. Lorenzo in July, 1798, been taken 
from the governor and transferred to the intendant as 
a fiscal concein, and that the intendant (Inau Ventura 
Morales) had, by hiis regulations published in July, 
1799, expressly retained the power of distributing and 
granting land and had only vested in the commandants 
of posts the power or duty to state on the margins of 
the petitions of the col()nists for grants of land, their 
circumistances, such as the number of their families, 
their qualifications as tillers of the soil (Labradors) and 
other specifications reipiired by the regulations. 

As the strongest proof that Carlos Dehault Delasus, 
(who wais Spanish Commandant at St. Louis from Au- 
gust, 1799, until the United States took possession of 
Louisiana) knew himself that he had not the power to 
issue coucec^sions or orders of survey, 1 state that I, as 
a land commissioner, had the perusal of two documents 
under his own hand writing dated some time in Oct. 
or Nov., 1800, which were in answer to applications to 
him for grants of land by colonists purposing the fol- 
lowing, viz: "It is now out of my power to issue con- 
cessions or orders of survey. This power exclusively 
belongs to the intendant. The most I can do for you 
is to make the most favorable statement in my power 



92 



coneeminii voiir (|iialitications to receivo a concesfiiioii." 
This is, however, the otticer whof^e eoucessions of a date 
subsequent to those (locunieut.s. for h'au,ues square, 
have IxMMi construed to be eiubiaced by the act of the 
12th ol' April, fsll, and cousequentlv liavc been cou- 
tirnied. 

I have thus dwelt ujuiii the elTects (tf tlic ai i of 1814 
because besid(- tiic undue advantaiL-c it has ^iven to 
land clainianls, thcv are ('udea\(M'iuii td make use of 
it as an ent«>rinii wediic, and by ext(Midinn its aberra- 
tions and (hM'idiction (»f i)rinciple to another (h'scriptiou 
of claims \vlii( h it had not embraced in order to obtain 
by degrees, that whicli tlicy would be afraid or av^liamed 
to ask at once. 

The act of the 12th of April, 1814, is the prototype of 
their favorite bill reported Feby. 10, 1818, witli this 
additional evil that tliis last bill provides f(U' the open- 
ing of an ottice (d' record, in order to enable, I j)resume, 
the old (laimants more than any body else, to make 
new entries of claims and al^o to autluuize tlieni to file 
de nooo in the new ollice any claim which may have 
been disallowi <1 by the former Board of Commissioners 
and whose ])roof they may consider incomplete and 
insnflicicnt. tliat they may have another opportunity of 
improving upon the ttstimony, which is so muidi the 
more dangerous as the tiNtinionv will be taken ex ])arte, 
the bill not providing for the appointment of an agent 
to app<'ai' in behalf of ili<' l'. S. and as froui j»ast ex- 
]K'ricnce niaiiv wituess(\v have ( viuced a great docility 
and disposition to accommodate the land claimants. 

Let it be observed that nothing is nntre dangerous 
than to open an ottici' for new claims, csjx'cially when 
the date of the treaty of St. lldefonso is abandone<l no 
Spanish registry is required to authenticate the claims, 

93 



and the conditions precedent under the Spanish laws 
and customs are laid aside. 

From various circumistances I have been induced to 
suspect that some person had blank signatures of the 
commandant who piece<led Dehault Delasus and that 
they have been used to create claims, and as to Mr. 
Delasus he now resides at St. Louis, lie is quite at 
hand, and deeply concerned in land chiims. Should 
that bill pass the national domains will be at his mercy- 
I leave it to yon decide whether so i^reat a proportion oT 
the most valuable i)roi)erty of the F. S. ounlit to be in 
the jxiiver of any man and ])articnlarly of tlu^ former 
commandant Delasus nndri tlu^ ciicnmstances ln^fori- 
related. 

From all I have been able to collect I am satisfied 
that the objects of the land claimants is to render the 
report of the former Board of Commissioners useless 
and nei2;atorv. They have endeavored to impress the 
idea that theii- claims were not confirmed by the com- 
missioners foi' want of power. This assertion is en- 
tirely false. The laws under which the latter acted 
shows indisputably that they had the power to con- 
firm absolutely any claim for land n(»t exceeding a 
league s(|uare according to the French and Spanish 
laws and customs, and were authorized and recinired to 
report severally their o])inions upon any claim for any 
quantity of land, whether in fav(U' or against. Let the 
land claimants designate the claims on which the Board 
has re])orted a favorable oi)inion, and if Congress refuse 
to contirm them, then let them comi)lain. 

For my part I don't know of (»ne in which an opinion 
for confirmation has been given, and if so it is false to 
say that the commissioners did not confirm t\u4r claims 
because they had not the power, for the increase of 



94 



])(»w(M- cdiild iKiT liMvr clianoed the oblij?ations to make 
tlicir (h'cision accoidiiiii to tlicir ('])iiii()T) and jiMluiiicnf. 

Xdlliiiiii scciiis to iiic more ol»vi(m,s and luoiicr tliau 
w Ik II I he coiiiiiiissioiicis ajipoiulcd to act iiixm certain 
(laiiiis lia\"»' iiixcii it as tlicir o]>iiiioii that those same. 
(dainis oiiiiht not to be confirnied, and the (d;iiniants 
contend lliat tlicy oiiiiht. th(^ niattci- oii^ht to he re- 
leired to courts of justice, as rh(^ only const it ntion;il tri- 
hunal to decide upon controversies. 

Th(M-e is a mass of fraud in the "ireater number of 
tliose (iainis wliich tlie eommissioner.s have not very 
earnestlv en(h'a\(ti-ed to iiniavel or exiiose, hecaUv^e, al- 
rhoujih the hnv under which they acted auiliori/.ed tliem 
to compel tile attendance of witnesses, nevertheless 
there was a huneness in tlieir poAAer, as they had no 
ministerial otticer to enforce their ])rocess, and more 
than (Mice tlie witnesses refused to answer to proper 
(juestions, especially some of the old Spanish officers. 
The commissioners were induced also not to insist on 
that power, because almost all their claims were other- 
wise ilU'iLial and unavailinii. Takinii- them all toucther 
they present a foiniid;ible aspect, from their number 
and the (piantity of land w liicdi they call for; it matters 
of no less than se\'eral millions of dollars worth of 
(lioice land of the territory, but in truth it is nothin;j, 
more than a i;reat superstructure without a basis. 

llaviiiu as ;i land coniniissioncr b«'en perhaps the 
least favorable to land (daimants. of course I have be 
come the most odious to them. This dislike has iu- 
cHMsed fr(Mn the disappoint^ment of the iii*eat<'r pait of 
tlieiii. w ho ;ire (d' I'^reiudi oriuiii and who, cd" course, e.\- 
pecte(i iiioK kindnesN from nie than from tlie other com- 
missioners. Many of tlR\se ^ciod people who act, mostly, 
with honor amouj^st themselves, seldom or perhaps 



95 



never have acted ever honestly with their sovereign. It 
8eems that they cannot reconcile with the idea that, 
with me, the interests of the U. S. should not give way 
to theirs. 

As a specimen of the course I have pursued as land 
commissioner, I beg leave to refer 3'ou to the report of 
Mr. (iahitiu to the President of the V. S. upon Deber- 
que's (laim wliich is contained in the Sith, 85th and 
80th pages of th(^ appendix to the Land Laws, being a 
compilation made, as I believe, under the direction of 
Ml-. (Jalatin. 

Without being \\ illing to deviate from the independ- 
ent course which 1 have taken with reispect to them all, 
whethei- they be American or French, nevertheless 1 
don't wisii to irritate them anew. I therefore request 
3'ou, sir, to make such a use of my communication as 
you may think best, without mentioning my name. Of 
one thing y<Hi mnst certainly be satisfied, that if I have 
not received a bribe from the U. S., my handis must be 
clean and my motives pure. 

Yourt?, 
(Sig.) JNO. B. C. LUCAS. 



St, Louis, January 2d. 1824. 
Philip Barbour, 

(Substance of letter about the sanu^ as the preceding 
to Geo. (Iraham.) 



St. Louis, June 3d. 1827. 
James Barbour, 

Secy, of War. 
Sir: — Having been re<]uested to submit to you my 
opinion of the fitness of ^Ir. James Keed of St. Louiis to 
till the office of Indian agent for the agency of IMairie du 

96 



Chien which has become vacant by the death of the late 
iiKUinbcnt, I hep, leave to state to you that from the ac- 
tivity, I'cuiilar habits, correct conduct and the lon.i; resi- 
(h'ncc of Ml-. Kccd's at the Council lUulT, and liis former 
situatiou (d' a clcik of the supciintendent of Indian 
atTairs at St. Louis, I Ixdicve him to be well (pialiticd to 
till su(h a station. There arc other considerations that 
would make uie wish jiini to have that api)ointment. 
He is iudei>endeut of (Jenl. (Mark and expects nothinj>; 
from him. Of ctnirse, he would be under the necessity 
to be alwa,ys at his i)ost and would be kej)t under proper 
checks which is not the case with certain other Indian 
agents who are tlie favorites of Oenl. f'lark and are 
suffered to loiter at home, receivinjii salaries which they 
d»m't earn, not even in part. 

Mr. Ueed is from Virginia, is married at St. Louis in 
an ancient and respectable family of the former Spanish 
inhabitants. ITis appointment would be a considerable 
iiratilicatiou to this description of persons, who are 
very f;ir froui luniuu luhl tlu'ir due proportion of the 
favors and kiu<luess of the general government. Hav- 
ing no i)rivate object to attain, but wishing merely to 
see ])ublic ofiices phic(^d in proper hands and prevent 
uiotiop(dy or coiuhiuatiou of 'power and influence in 
any knot or set of lueu. 1 will meulion you another per- 
son for the sauie ottice. His unuie is Auguste Pierre 
Chouteau of St. Louis. lie has received a military 
education at West Point. He is Indian trader, a man 
of vstrict honoi- and eminently qualified for that station. 
I believe he w ould accept the a])pointment. He is now 
on iIk' .\rkans;is Kiver trading with the Osage Indians. 
I mUiSt say. however, that I am not authorized by him 
nor any of his friends to mention his name. 

I have the honor to be, 

Respectfully, &c., 

97 



St. Louis, Feby. 10th, 1817. 
Jos. Beatty, 

Sir: — Mr. Devores, sheriff of the county of St. Charles, 
has informed me on the other day that you had a slave, 
I believe a mulatto man, for sale. I requested him to 
inform you that from the character he gave me of the 
slave, I was disposed to buy him and by assigning a 
da}" I was willing to meet 30U at St. Charles, where most 
probably we would close a bargain about it. Now, sir. 
I will meet you there on any day you nv<\j choose to 
mention provided the river can be crossed. I shall be 
able to pay you the whole price in land. 

Yours, 

J. B. C. L. 



St. Louis, December 3, 1820. 
G. Brown, 

(In answer to his letter dated Vincennes, 11, Oct., 
1820. I say that I remember to have been acquainted 
at Pittsburgh about 1795. That there is no prospects 
for him and Mrs. Tillinghast to find employ at St. 
Louis as teachers.) 



St. Louis, Nov. 10, 1820. 
Hon. J. C. Calhoun, 

(The same as the preceding one to Wm. H. Crawford, 
(•raitting only to mention that Benton is the friend and 
relation of H. Clay.) 



John Calhoun, 

Sir: — Having lately received information that it has 
been circulated during the last session of Congress that 
I had written to divers members of Congress from the 
non slave holding states and informed them that the 

98 



persons opposed to slavery wer getting in power in 
Missouri, in order to induce them to hold out against 
the admission of this state into the union; that in conse- 
quence of this Missouri is kirgely indebted to me for 
the liumilijition (o which she has been subjected last 
winter. 

I also understand that such a report has been credited 
by some in(Miibers from the slave holding states and 
other gcnllcnicii. IN'ruiit me therefore to assure 3011 
th;i( these reports ;ire utterly unfounded; that I never 
have written anything at Washington or elsewhere to 
any ixHtson directly or indirectly for or against the ques- 
tions for authorizing the territory of Missouri to be- 
come a state or for admitting Missouri into the union. 
That I believe such report has originated with agents 
and partners of the Spanish land claimnnts at Wash- 
ington whose object is to interrupt the good understand- 
ing that may exist between me and numbers of gentle- 
men fi'om the sDutli as they sus])ect that I corres]M)nd 
with them on subject of laud claims and may again 
Mlarm them. 

Yours respectfully, 



St. Louis, Jany. 31st, 1823. 
Hon. J. C. Calhoun, 

Sir: — Presuming that you are not ignorant that a 
large balance of the Spanish land claims reported uj)on 
by the commissioners remain in statu quo, and that 
the land claimants have made various attempts to pro 
cure the ])assage of an act suitable to their wishes, per- 
mit me to suggest to you that far from being dis- 
couraged, their eagerness and industry increases with 
the difficulties, and that the absence of Mr. Lowndes, 



Dl) 



perhaps of others, will probably give tlieni this session 
a fresh encouragement to renew their attemptis. Un- 
fortunately the interest of many influential men here 
is at variance with that of the U. S. Notliinti is more 
just though at the same time more objectionable to land 
claimants than to have their claims referred to a court 
of justice. Finding that they could not avoid in the 
bill reported last year the reference to the judiciary, 
they endeavored to chide its effects by interpolating 
principles unknown to tlie Spanish hnvs trammel the 
court. Knowing perfectly your devotion to the iservice 
of your country, I make no doubt but you will put your 
friends in Congress upon their guard. 

Yours, &.C., &.C., 



St. Louis. February 19, 1825. 

Wm. Clark, Superintendent, 

Letter to stating that I have repeatedly sustained 
waste and damage from various bands of Indians and 
especially on the 1st day of November, 1824, by a band 
of Indians said to be of the Seneca tribe. This last 
waste induced me to require Mr, Alexander, who, as 
I am informed, was under employ in Indian affairs, to 
have those Indians removed from my premises and at 
the same time to satisfy me for the damage I had sus- 
tained from them. They were removed, but as to the 
damage done, lie said that he had no power to arrange 
that matter. 

N((w, sir, I beg leave to i)resent to you the euch)sed 
bill of the damage which I have sustained, expecting 
that you will pay a due regard to my claim. 

100 



(Copy of Rill.) 
United Statas Indian Affairs, 

To John B. C. Lucas, Dr. 
To waste and daina.i»e eoniniitted on my farm adjoin- 
inii" ^t. Louis, on the 1st day of November, 1824, by a 
band of Indians, said to be of tlie Seneca tribe, who 
lia\(' (lit thereon a considerable number of saplings and 
other timber for their encampment and fuel, $15.00. 



St. Louis, July 22d, 1826. 
Wm. Clark, Superintendent, 

(Letter to, complaining that Indians are encamped at 
my sprin;j,, — have done damage. 

Kequested to remove them immediately, or I shall 
take the legal means to do it.) 



St. Louis, Jany. 18th, 1827. 
Robt. P. Clark, 

Boonville, 
Dear Sir: — I have endortfed a draft of Thomas Car- 
rail on Mr. F. Maher of New Orleans which I am ad- 
vised by a notary is protested for non-payment. The 
draft is not yet returned. It iis for .f300. I request 
of you the favor to see Mr. Carrall, who, as I am in- 
formed resides at Boonville, and ascertain from him 
whether he can indemnify me immediately, and in case 
he should be able to refund the whole sum and all 
expenses incurred, I authorize you to receive from him 
such ])r()perty as you can get and give a discharge of 
the whole in my name. Leaving all to your sound dis- 
cretion. I felt a particular disposition to oblige Mr. 

iOi 



Can-all altliough I don't remember to have heard of 
him or seeii him but two days before I endorsed the 
note before mentioned for him. He was born and 
raised in my former neighborhood in Pennsylvania. 1 
knew his mother m(ne than 40 years before she was 
married. Uo\ernor Carrall was a particular friend of 
my late son Charles Lucas, thus my feelings alone in 
duced me to oblige him without retleetion. I heard 
soon after I had made the endorsement for him a very 
unfavorable account of him. From general report he 
must be destitute of truth, honesty and property . Most 
probably Mr. Maher owes him nothing nor has author- 
ized him to draw upon him. This looks very much like 
swindling. I beg of you to manage my affair with him 
in the best manner; you can take property should it be 
worth but one hundred dollars isoouer than to lose all. 
lu order to induce him to some compromise, assure him 
that if he evinces a sincere wish by his acts to indemnify 
me as much as he can provided always it be to the 
amount before mentioned I shall isay nothing of the 
transaction to no one. I hope 3M)u will have the good- 
ness to do all you can for me on the present occasion 
and inform me as soon as convenient how far you have 
succeeded or what are your prospects. 

liespectfully yours, 

J. B. C. L. 



St. Louii-s, Jany. 14, 1827. 
Thomas Carrall, 
Boonvllle, 
Sir: — T have received notice by last mail from a 
notary of New Orleans, dated IDth December, 1820, that 
your draft in my favor on Mr. Maher for the sum of 
three hundred dollars, dated 28th day of November, 

102 



1826, was this day protested by him for nonpayment 
and tliat the hohlcr looks to me for the payment as 
cndoiscr tliereof. I told you at the time I endorsed 
your dial'l lliat I was not in trade and of eonrse my 
proiM'ity wais not in cash. The draft and protest has 
not been returned yet. I request you to use the neces- 
sary diligence to save me the difficulty of making that 
payment myself, and in case you could not and have no 
other means to indemnify me but b}' paying in property, 
wishing to make some sacrifice sooner than to expose 
you. I have authorized Robert P. Clark. Esq., to settle 
with you on such terms as he may think reasonable and 
give you a discharge for the same. 

Yours, 

J. B. C. L. 



St. Louis, November 16, 1821. 
Daniel Cook, 

(Letter to. informing him thai J went to Edwards- 
ville to see him. Was too late. Saw Gov. Edwards. 
Having been informed that I had been represented at 
Wavshington last winter as communicating with mem- 
bers from non slave holding states, advising them to 
hold out against admission of state; that restrictionists 
were gaiuinu jMtwer in the state, and clause inhibiting 
slavery would be introduced in constitution, »S:c. That 
this request was believed by members from the south. 
Therefore I requested him to state to President, Mr. 
Adam.s and others that I had never written anything 
at Washington or elsewhere for or against the Mis- 
souri questions, and also to state what he knew of my 
private and public standing in Missouri, and to inform 
him, Mr. Cook, of my wish that he would himself do as 
much for me. That since that time I have received 

103 



more purtifular information that such irports had been 
made to the President for the attainment of a particu- 
lar object in consequence of wliich I earnestly solicit 
to make the statement in question to the president as 
soon as pOiSsible, and to favor me witli a letter if he 
finds it convenient. 

Respectfully yours, 

J. B. C. L. 



St. Louis, Feby. 8th, 1822. 
Daniel P. Cook, 

Dear Sir: — Your obli^inj^ letter of the 31st of Decem- 
ber was received. 1 j;ive you my sincere thanks for 
the offer you make me of your aid. 1 never requested 
any person in the state of Missouri or Illinois to recom- 
mend me to the Prevsident for the office of District Judj^e 
or any other, if I had I sliould have as soon applied to 
you a« to any other persons for that purpose, but. sir, 
having lived long time and believing also that my pri- 
vate and public character is well known at Washington, 
I have merely intimated that such an appointment 
would be acceptable. 1 never felt a strong desire to 
obtain the appointment, much less did 1 feel a dispo- 
sition to be solicitous and importunate about it. The 
period of life which I have gone through, together with 
my peculiar relish for independence could not allow 
me to go further than I have done. You have com- 
plied with my request to the full extent. 1 had chietly 
in view to prevent my calumniators at Wa.shingtcm 
from taking anything by their villany, and have the 
]»resident, the Secretary of State and others undeceived 
in case the reports in question had made any impression 
on their minds. I am, dear sir, 

Respectfully yours, 

J. B. C. L. 
104 



St. Louis, Foby. 24, 1820. 
Hon. Daniel P. Cook, 

Sir: — I forwarded to von, some time since, a skelcli of 
tlie ar.mimenl which I delivered Ix'forc the District 
Court at St. I^ouis in November, 1S24. Notwithstand- 
ing; the multiplicity uf business wliich absorb your at- 
tention, I hope that you iiave been able t(» a How some 
share of your attention to that argument. 1 shouUl like 
very much to h'arn if it lias operated a conviction on 
your mind. In endeavoring; to be concise perhaps I 
have failed or fallen short of persi)icuity. If I had the 
o])])ortunity of conversiuj; with you, I think that I 
shouhl be able to satisfy you upon any point that might 
rise a doubt in your mind. 

You know, 1 presume, that Mr. Bates has avowed 
himself to be a can<lidate for Congress. In ca«e he 
Lshould succeed, the ottice of District Attorney woukl be- 
come vacant. You woui<l «h» me a iKirticular favor if 
you woukl recommend W'm. Lucas to the ]Hesident fo^ 
that situation. It is my opiiuon that he is fully compe- 
tent to discharge the duties of that office. I presumt^ 
Uiat Mr. Barton knows enough (tf him to give you an 
opinion of his qualifications and ciiaracter. 

Kespect fully, &c.. 



April 29, 1823. 
H. Cozens, 

I am really sorry that mj' re]H'ated calls upon you 
for these three months past, for the arrears of house 
i« lit you owe me had no effect. Let me repeat to you 
that if 1 was not in real waul I should hM you coose 
your time and consult solely your consciimce. True it 
is, the sum due is small, but in these hard times prop- 
erty fetches but little, and that; little is the more 

105 



wanted. At any rate, if tlie sum iis small, it can be the 
more easilj' paid. I have borrowed some money about 
two months a<»o which I must now return. I have no 
means to do it if you don't let me have what you owe 
me. I mi*»iit do, however, for the pre.sent, witli $50. I 
have notes to the amount of |500 which will be due 
to me next September, but this cannot answer the pres- 
ent purpose. 

Yours, &c., 

J. B. C. L. 



St. Louis, December 20th, 1822. 
Wni. H. Crawford, 

Sir: — Havini» been informed that the commission of 
surveyor of the public lands and now held b}' Wm. 
Rector, is going to expire, permit me to mention you the 
name of Mr. Stephen Glassock of the County of Hall in 
the State of Misisouri, originally from Virginia, as a per- 
son well qualified in my opinion to discharge the duties 
of that oflBce. 

T am pei'sonally acquainted with Mr. Glassock. He is 
a practical surveyor and had the surveying of one or 
more districts under Mr. Hector. He is a man temper- 
ate, of great industry and application. For further in- 
formation concerning Mr. Glassock T beg leave to refer 
to one of his former neighbors, Thomas L. More, Esq., 
repreisentative in Congress froni Virginia. I am, &c., 

J. B. C. L. 



St. Louis, Jany. 4th, 1821. 
Wm. H. Crawford, 

Sir: — You will, I suppose, recollect that I joined in a 
recommendation three years ago with several gentle- 

106 



mon from Vormont, in favor of Pasoal V. Enos. Esquire, 
for tlio appoint iiiciit of reccivor iji some of the land 
offices in the state of Missouri, lieing informed that 
lie has not yet been appointed, and that he residets now 
in the state of Illinois, the fair and honorabl(» character, 
which from the best information 1 am satisfied he en- 
}oyn in the state of Vermont, couph'd with tiie personal 
knowledj^e 1 jjossess of his honeistj and titness since 
he has rasided in these parts of the country induces me 
to assure you with an additional dej^ree of confidence 
that he fulh^ deserves the patronage of the government 
and would in my opinion discharji,*' with advantage to 
the public the dutieis of receiver iu a land office. 1 un- 
derstand that he would prefer such a situation in the 

state of Illinois. 

Respectfully, &c., 



St. Louis, Nov. 26, 1821. 
Wni. H. Crawford, 

(Letter to, ^tating that I 'having last year intimated 
him the wish t<» be appointed judge of the Distiict Court 
of U. S. for State of Mist^ouri, I am inductnl to believe 
that the friends of land claimants are the pensons who 
have reported at Washington last year that I have writ- 
ten to several members from the non slave holding 
states that if they persisted to refuse their assent to 
the admisKion of the state of iMissouri the restrictionists 
gaining strength daily would be able to have introduced 
at last in the constitution a clause inhibiting slavery. 

I declare that I never wrote a line at Washington or 
elsewhere for or against the Missouri (luestions. That I 
have reason to believe that such report has originated 

lUT 



with the agents and friemls of the hiiul claimant*^ iu 
order to create prejudice agaiust iiie and secure the 
phice of judi>e to one of their creatures. 

Having been for more than 15 years a judge of the 
territory of Mii>souri and being the senior judge iu com- 
mission, I think that my pretensions to the office of Dis- 
trict Judge are reasonable. 

I request you to accjuaint tlie President witlt this 
declaration. Messrs. Edwards and Cook from the 
Illinoiis who reside within 20 miles of IJ^t, Louis are 
proper persons to inform you of my standing, public or 
private in Missouri. 

Respectfully yours, 

J. B. C. L. 



December 14, 1823. 
Wm. H. Crawford, 

It being probable that the office of surveyor which 
Wm. Rector holds will be vacant some time during the 
present session of congress I beg leave to mention the 
name of Col. Justus Post as a person fit in my opinion 
to fill that office. Mr. Jones, former Sey. of the navy 
made a particular en(|uiry of him to me when I was 
at P'hia 5 years ago. He spoke very favorably of him. 
He was employed lately by the state of Illinois to ascer- 
tain the practicability and means of making a canal 
from the Lake Michigan to Chicago. As an engineer 
I doubt not of his qualifications, etc. 



(Way mail letter.) 

Jany. 27, 1824. 
Wm. H. Crawford, 

Sir: — There is a number of i)ersons that have lately 
taken their departure from this part of the country for 

108 



Washington iiiidcr one pretext or another. The real 
motive of sexeral of tJHMi! is to liiiiit for offices. Mr. 
McNear is certainly one of thciii and most ])rol)ably 
Thois. Kedclick is anoMicr. Thcv arc holh inscdvent. 
McXcnr is a man of lilllc or no inform.il ion, jtiKSsessed 
of tlje manners and a(hlress snilahh' to gain [)oi)nhn'it_v 
on a frontier ,iiu\ no where else. He was nolorionsiy a 
bnlly on tlu^ side of tlie federalists at the (dectioms in 
I'a. in file veiy same disii-ici which I formerly repre- 
sented in Congrevss, .Mr. Lowrie might have heard of 
him. Mr. Faridly mnst certainly know something of it. 
Keddick has gone for these 15 years throngh the vicissi- 
tudes of an intriguing man, who never had any capital 
of his own, bnt succeeded in obtaining credit for merch- 
andize, etc., gave but little or no attendance to busi- 
ness, spent his time in i>leasure and gambling, and at 
last was made president of the Bank of Missouri when 
this establishment became so situated that no man who 
valued credit and character could be found to be put at 
the head of that institution. Mi-. Keddick is plausible 
and possesses an appearance of anhtr throngh which he 
has some time uained an nnmerited contidence. 

I'nini circnmstancev^ and rei»orts I am induced !(t be- 
lieve that bargains and compromiises have been made 
lately liere in consider;il ion of which these visitors to 
^^'ashington have obtained recouimendations. If Col. 
St rot her uho is now canclidate fur Congress is elected 
there will be a vacancy of icccivt r wlii* h might be very 
acceptable to some one. An insolvent man. however, 
is very ill suited to that office. 

It is expected licic that an office of Indian agent for 
.sonu' i>artis of Misisouri or jMississippi adjacent to us will 
be created this year. If so, McXear will not fail to be 
an applicant for it. It is probably superfluous to men- 



lOi) 



tion that there is much duplicity used by some of our 
representatives at Waishini'ton. If I am rightjy in- 
formed they have a tale aud pursue a certain course 
suitable to the meridian of Washiniiton aud another for 
this country. Perhaps you don't know that Mr, Benton 
has a lien on the press of the editor of the St. Louis En- 
quirer which must secure him nearly as much influence 
over the En<juirer as when he was the editor of it him- 
self, lie was ( xtremely active last year in procuring; a 
recommendation ()f the Missouri legit^lature in favor 
ol Henry Clay as candidate for the pre.sidential 
cliair. The St. Louis Euipiirer sii])ports now (May and 
Calhoun, whilst, if I am correctly informed, Mr. Benton 
pretends at Washington to be much interested in f^vor 
of another candidate. 



St. Louis, Jany., 1825. 
Wm. H. Crawford, 

Sir: — Having lately' been informed that the office of 
receiver of the public monieis at Edwardsville, (State of 
Illinois) has become vacant, peiuiit me to recommend 
to your attention Mr. Joseph Charless of St. Louies as a 
person well (jualified to fill that station. He owns 
several valuable houses in St. Louis where he resideis foi 
these sixteen (u- seventeen yeans. He is an industrious 
man, a good manager and the head of a respectable 
family. I believe him to be perfectly clear of debts. 

I have the honor to be, 

Kespectfully, &c.. 



St. Louis, February 17, 1824. 
Mahlon Dickenson, s 

Sir: — The wa^^te of blood aud public money conse- 
quent to the hostilities committed by the Vicaras last 

110 



simimer uixin the ]»;irty of Wm. Ashley, will, I hope, in- 
duce Coiiiiicss ti» make some amendments to the acts 
leniihitinii iiitereoiirse w itii the Indians. I eall it waste 
because Mr. Aishley liad no just claim for protection, 
beiuii himself viohitor of tlie hnvs of his country. In 
tnrninn to his own h'Ker of Ihe 4th of Jun<', \S'2l\, to 
Major O'FaUou, a co|>y of w hicii is contained in t lie docn- 
uients accompauyiuii the messajic of the president it 
will be seen that Mr. Ashley had purchased or traded 
with the Indians for forty or fifty hoiseis a liMh' before 
they made an attack ni»oM his party. It a})pears from 
tile same documents that lie ha<l a license to carry on a 
trade with the Indians ui) tlie Missouri. This business 
is of a general nature, it does not embrace the base of 
trading for horses. There must be a license for that 
special purpose. See Sect. 10th of Act Regulating in- 
tercourse, is of March 30th, 1802. Mr. Asnley had no 
such license. Of course tlie kind of trade he had just 
carried on was unauthorized by law. Lie was not then 
an authorized or licensed trader. It will also be seen 
by his h'tter :liat his party was composed of JIO men. 
It was originally comp(tsed of a much hu'ger nuuiber 
who had deserted him some time before, lint even 00 
is a much larger numbei- than is necessary to «arry on 
trade, but it ikH too great foi- the purpose of huntiug 
and trapping. From this circumstance it is inferrible 
that the purpose of Mr. Ashley's ( \])edition was unlaw- 
ful thi'oughoul. All exliaci of a letter from the Secy, 
of War to (Jeiil. Win. (Mark. sui>erintendent, ^K:c., which 
is a part of the same documents, also shows that Major 
()'I<"'allon :jn Indian agent, knows nothing about the 
laws regnlaiing intercourse with the Indians, as he 
supposes that (Jenl. Ashley and Major Henry have ob- 
tained licenses to trade, trap and hunt on the upper 



111 



• Missouri. It sliows also that the law regulating inter 
course is a dead letter on upper Missouri. This ^A•ouUt 
well justify an enquiry into the subject of Indian affairs. 

For my part I am well satisfied that so long as licen»ses 
will be granted to tiade with the remote Indians as 
has been ])i(tvided by a subsequent act, the practice of 
hunting and trapping by the whites will continue, pil- 
lage and hostilities by way of retaliation on the part 
of the Indians will also continue. 

If the British have the good will of the Indians up 
the Missouii and the prefei-encc upon us is trade, it 
is because they cany it fairly. Tliey leave to the 
Indians exclusively the benefits of hunting and trap 
ping, and the business of rra<le cicates a reciprocity of 
convenience and interest Avliich affordts more security 
than any militaiy post could. Should a military force 
be posted higher up the Missouri, the number of points 
of contact would increase in the ratio of the advance- 
ment and the conse(iuent increa»se of collision would 
multiply the causes of hostilities. There would be then 
as much reaison to march from the jiost (100 mih's west 
as there was last year for iiiaiching frcni the Council 
BluttVs against the Vicaias. 

Mr. Ashley has stated also in his letter that Vicaras 
were killed in an affray with some men of the Misisouri 
Full- ('omi)any. The caus(^ of that affray is not stated; 
it often happens that the Indians pillage the tra])j)ers. 
whicii bringiS murders in retaliation. 

There ij< in our part of the country an interest among 
SOUK' whicli iis somi' time discrepant and t'ven entirely 
opposed to that of the V. S. This kind of intercvst may 
find advocates in the Senate. In consideration of these 
I have thoujiht that these communications might be 



112 



useful. They are made in a true Kepublioan spirit, in 

the nienntime I beg of you to considiM- them as conti- 

(k'Hlial. 

KeispectfuUy, 



February 17, 1824. 
TJufus King, 

(Letter to, of same tenor as the foregoing of same 
(late t(» Malilon Dickenson.) 



February 17, 1824. 
Saml. D. Ingham, 

(Letter to, of same tenor as the foregoing of same 
date to Dif'kenson ^lahlon.) 



St. Louis, December 21, 1821. 
^A'nl. Eustis, 

Sir: — As you have been long time absent from the 
U. S. and you have but lately resumed a seat in Con- 
gress, therefore, lest you should not be sufficiently in- 
fornuMl of the many defects of the Spanish claims to 
]an<l in the State of Missouri which remain uncon- 
firmed; lest also you should not be sutlicienlly aware 
of the Mi'tfnl iiicMiis wliicli li;iv(^ been heretofore used 
and will, no doubt, be recurred to during the i)resent 
session of Congress, to procure the passage of an act for 
conlirming the same or f(»r putting them in a proper 
train for coiifirmatioii, permit me to observe you that 
by the 4th section of an act of Congress of the 8d of 
March, 1807, &c., (the sequel is the same as in the letter 
to W-ttlter Lowrie of the same date.) 

113 



St. Louis, Jany. 25, 1822. 
Hon. Wni, Eiistis, 

Sir: — Seeing that a resolution has been brought in the 
house of representatives, &c.. the same except the 1st 
line as letter to Walter Lowrie of same date.) 



St. Louis, December 7th, 1821. 
Merrion Edwards, 

Sir: — Having received additional information! that 
the requests invented and circulated against me at 
Washington concerning supposed communications to 
retard or prevent the admission of Missouri into the 
union had originated in a deeper design than I had 
originally imagined and had been productive of greater 
effect than I was aware of, permit me to solicit you to 
state as soon as you conveniently can to Messrs. Nath. 
Macon, Barbour, Dickerson, Condit, Ruggles, Walter 
Lowrie, Szc the declarations which I madf- to you and 
also what you know from your OAvn knowledge or from 
genera] reputation of ray public and private character, 
likewise of my present standing in Missouri. 

It is reported here that there is much canvassing at 
St. Charles on the subject of our next representation in 
Congress. Messrs. Green, Geyer, Tompkins are spoken 
of as candidates. 

1 should feel happy if you could make it convenient 
to write me a few lines. 

Yours respectfully, &e., 



February 4, 1824. 
Nenian Edwards, 

Sir: — It being generally expected here that another 
office of Indian agent for some parts of the Missouri or 
Mississippi will be created during the present session 

111 



of Conjiress, I beg leave to intimate the desire which I 
have to fill tliat station. I hope you will be so rjood 
as to consider this connniinicatiou as coiifideiitial. You 
are the only jhtsoii from ]Missoini or Illinois to wlioiu I 
do or \voul<l 11111 Ue such an application. Yon may ascer- 
tain at Wasliiunlou. if you have not already done it, 
that I have becMi uudeviatingly and uninterru])tedly an 
active i('i)ubli( an for these 35 years, That I was par- 
ticularly so in 17!)S-<)I) and 1800. That in IT'M) I was 
ai)pointed judge iu Pa. by (Jov, Thomas McKean, etc., 
etc. 

1 have received the packet containing the public 
documents which you had the goodness to direct me. I 
cordially thank you for it. 

I shall be under a particular obligation for any in- 
formation yon may think proper to favor me with. 

Respectfully, 



November 26, 1825. 
(Letter to) 
Thomas English, 

(("oncerning Simon Black informing that Simon is 
discontented, ^VishevS to go back with him. Has great 
regard and affection for Mns. English. Would sell him 
for |250. Request answer. How much he would give. 
1 will dispose of him within courvse of three months. 
Prefer to sell him to you on his account. Perhaps 1 
would let him go for les»s. 

Yours, &c., 



St. Louis, December 27, 1821. 
Patrick Faiiaily, 

Sir: — Presuming that you are the same gentleman 
who resided about 18 years ago on or near Erie on 

115 



Presqiiisle. whom I knew from reputation, and to whom 
I was probable known in the same way, I beg- leave to 
submit to Your consideration a short statement relating 
to the French and Spanish claims to land in the state 
of Missouri which remain unconfirmed as I apprehend 
from the intrigue and artful means that have hereto- 
fore been used similar one with an additional influence 
derived from the late incidents will, no doubt, be 
exerted. The residue is tiie same as in letter to Walter 
Lowrie, dated December 21st. 1821, except reasons be- 
cause, &c., which are omitted. 



St. Louis. November 22d. 1819. 
Albert Gallatin. 

Sir: — I beg leave to recommend to your civilities and 
attenti(Ui M. Everist Maurv, Avho has for several years 
past resided at St. Louis. Miss. Territon, and where he 
still has a considerable interest in land and other 
property. He informs me that he is about to take a 
journey to Europe and visit Italy, from whence he 
originally came. Being a citizen of the U. S.. probably 
he may also under that respect be in a particular want 
of your aid and support in the attainment of some im- 
portant objects. 

L am, &c., 
J. B. C. L. 

St. Louis, Jany. 18, 1825. 
Albert Gallatin. 

Dear Sir: — I ha\e learned that the office of judge of 
the Ty. of A. is vacant or going to be. so I beg leave to 
inform you that I should wish to obtain that appoint- 
ment and request your support witii the president if 
you deem me to be worthy of it. 

116 



If instead ol" iciiiovinii (o Missouri 1!) veal's ago T lia<l 
i('iU(>V('(l ill rciui. ii is juobablc lliat louu before this 
tiiiH' 1 should have ac<|uired a standing which would 
justilv my ju-etonsious to a higher situation than this, 
but as it is 1 hope you will be i>leavsed to take into con- 
i!<ideraliitn llial in my self-denial by thus retiring in the 
wilds of Missouri I have not become entirely useless to 
the U. S. Although 1 have not received the recom- 
pense usually attending good and useful deeds such as 
reputation. At the express request of the judge of the 
district court and of the district attorney of Missouri 
I have taken i)art in belialf of the U. S. in an argument 
before that eiturt against a claim derived or pretended 
to be derived frcun the Spanish government for 10000 
arpens of land. This is the 1st claim brought before 
the court of the U. S. under the late act of Congress to 
try such claims. I need not to sa} that this circum- 
stance has opened wider than ever the breach existing 
between the land claimants, their adherents and myself. 

No doubt but Thomas \V. Benton, their agent and 
counsel to whom they have procured a seat in the 
Senate in order tt) have their interests the better 
attended to in (.'ongress, will second their views against 
me at Washington so far as will lie in his power. 

I am, 



St. Louis, Jany. IS, 1825. 
J. C. Calhoun, 

(Letter, to same as the foregoing to Albert Gallatin.) 



St. Louis, Nov. 9th, 1821. 
Gales & Sea ton. Printers, 

Gentlemen: — Having lately been informed that an 
extract from your editorial remarks contained in the 

117 



2suti()iial Intelligencer of the lOtli of Marcli ulto. which 
has been pnblishecl in the St. Louis Enquirer of the 14th 
of April, ulto., with a comment thereon under the name 
of a Missourian has uiven occasion divers peiisons to 
circulate or i^ive to understand that I was one of those 
that had i^iven the incorrect information alluded to in 
jour remarks, and was the indefatii;al)le ai»eut of mis- 
chief spoken of in the comments of the Missourian. 
This report being utterly false and calculated to bring 
an undeserved odium upon me both at Washington and 
in the state of Missouri. I therefore request 3'ou to re- 
publish the following extract and part of the comment 
which relates to the same, so that the charge being 
before the public it may be known that T meet it entire. 

From tlie St. Louis Enquirer, April 14, 1821. 

"Communicated'' 
From the National Intelligencer of March 10. 

"We believe, indeed, that such as o]»pased the ad- 
mission of Missouri in order to compel her, by refusing 
to admit her on any other terms to introduce into her 
'constitution a clause inhibiting slavery, labored under 
the disadvantage of incorrect information and of a mis- 
apprehension of the effect of the course which they pro- 
posed. The private letters from Missouri ought not «o 
much to have been relied on as the unanimous declara- 
tions of her authorized agents." 

For sixteen years a system of scM-ret ('((mmiinications 
has been carried on from this ]>hi(e t<i tho seat of the 
general government. It has attacked the characters of 
individuals, &c., &c. 

Finally this indefatigable agent of mischief has at- 
tacked the sovereignty of the state of Missouri and has 
undertaken to array a majority of Congress against her 

118 



rights by iiiiposiu*; on tlic members fioiu the uon slave 
hokling states the most unparalleled falsehoods. Secret 
comimmicalioiis have been made to elTeet this object, 
statinji; tli;il (he restriclionisl^s were gettiui*- into power 
iu Missonri and that a majority of the people w^ere now 
in llicii- favor. \'arious information has given intelli- 
gence of their infernal work, and there rests not a doubt 
but that Miissouri is hugely imhbted to it for all the 
humiliation to which she has been subjected last win- 
ter." 

Whether your belief of incorrect information and 
private letters from Missouri, cS:c., &c., was founded on 
your own knowledge of the fact or of the reports cir- 
culated is of no importance to me, 1 shall sspeak only for 
myself, I do positively declare that for these three years 
past I have not been at the city of Washington, nor 
have been more than 25 miles beyond the bounds of the 
state of Missouri, that I never have written anything 
to any member of Congress nor any other person at 
Washington or elsewhere, neither when the question ot 
authorizing the territory to become a state under cer- 
tain restrictions wais agitated before Congress, nor since, 
when the question of admission of Missouri into the 
union was before that bo<ly, nor at any other time that 
was directly or indirectly in favor or against either side 
of the questions. I further declare that I never wrote 
or otherwise suggested to any person at Washington 
or elsewhere, that in case Congress should refuse the 
admission of the state into the union on account of the 
clause in the constitution concerning free persons of 
color, the jx'ople of Missouri would change in any man- 
ner tilt' provisions of the present constitution on the 
subject of shnery, nor did I believe they would. Neither 
did I state in writing or otherwise that a majority of 



119 



the people of Missouri were uow in favor of restriction 
on the subject of shiver^', nor that the revstrictionists 
were j»ettinj» into power in the state of Missouri and 
that a majority of tlie people were now in their favor. 
Gentlemen, I am, &c., 

J. B. C. L. 

N. B. — You will be pleased to iuvsert the contents in 
your paper. If you think proper to charge me for it I 
will satisfy you. 



St. Louis, June 22<1, 1827. 
Stephen Glassock, Esq., 

Dear Sir: — I should have availed mys(df of tlie in- 
formation you nave me by your favour of tlie .SHi Janu- 
ary last about the sale intended to be made of the 
negroes belonging to the estate of Mr. Lane's, but the 
weather was so intensely cold and the notice was so 
short that I despaired to be there in time. I regret 
very much you did not know that I had changed my 
residence as it deprived me of the opportunity of seeing 
you when you were at St. Louis, I thank you for set- 
tling the taxes of our land in Ralls County. As you 
had the goodness to inform me that in parsing through 
Bowlingreen you would examine if our land iu Pike 
County had been listed. I should wish to let me know 
the result of your euquirieis on that subject. 

I have not been able as yet to buy a negro woman for 
my son. If you could hear of one between 12 and 20 
years old, sound and known to be a tolerable good 
negro you would oblige me much in letting me know it, 
and mentioning me also the price it could be got for. 
I should forthwith go to your part of the country and 
try to close the bargain. 

120 



I never heard if you had succeeded in obtaining a 

sufficient number of subscribers to the ])iiiit('d petition 
which I transmitted to you. At any rate the hnid chiim- 
antc^ have hitely iniv<'ii a sii^nal evith'iice that they view 
the claims for whicli they have instituted suits before 
the District (\)urt of the U. S. as liopidess. They tried 
a^aiu at the hist term of the District Court h<'hl at St. 
UeueA'ie\'e about two weeks aiid and at the same court 
now sittiu«> at St. Louis, to have tiieir cawes continued 
but they c(»nld not sncceed in conseciuence (»r winch 
sooner tlian to come to a trial they hav(^ dismi.^stMl all 
1 iieir suits but one at St. (lenevieve, and t he other at St. 
Louis. This a plii^ht and discomtiture wiiich speaks a 
volume against the le|iiality of th(KSe claims. In tlnus 
runninii, away from th<' court authorized to decide the 
land claims ui>on the broad jninci]»les of justice and 
((piity conformably to the laws and usages of the re- 
s|)ective lioveiiimeiits under which those claims ori<iin 
ated, tile lan<l clain»ants and their counsel of whom 
Henton is one, virtually acknowledged that I could not 
as a commisNioner report C(Uiscieutiously In favin* of 
their claims, and that 1 have been slander«'d and perse- 
cuted for these 22 years in conse(|uence id" my having 
served the L'. S. with fidelity and resisted the tempta- 
tions of wealth and popularity. 

I hope you will favor me with an answer as soon aB 
you conveniently can. I am. 

Respectfully, &e., 

J. B. C. L. 



St. Louis, Nov. 14, 1828. 
Hon. neo. Graham, 

Sir: — Your letter of .... of July last ccmcerning lead 

mines, salt springs, their number, the titles of the same 

121 



was duly received. Not beinsi; possessed of any satis- 
fac'ton' iiifonnatiou ou that subject, I delayed answer- 
iiijj until uow in expectation that possibly I mi«ht ac- 
quire some. I sincerely regret not to have had it in my 
power to obtain any sufficiently accurate to be worth 
meutioninn. The information which I once possessed 
as one of the conimissicmers to ascertain to ascertain 
Titles and adjust claims to land, in the district of Louis- 
iana, is too far g<me from my memory to rely much uyum 
it. More than eleven years have elapsed since the com- 
missioners re})ort was made to the Secretary of the 
Treasury'. It is, I' presume, lodged in your office, and 
it affords a more specific and surer answer than all I 
could say. There is a separate and special re])ort made 
on lead mines and salt licks. I remember that it is 
not as comprehensive and minute as it ought to be for 
the agent of the U. S. did not collect and lay before the 
board any information although the act concerning that 
subject prescribed that he should do it. Another re- 
port has been made b}' the recorder of land titles and in 
1810 under the authority of an act for tlie final adjust- 
ment of land claims, &c., of the 14th of April, 1814. The 
particulars of this report are unknown to me, but you 
are in possession of it. The recorder, Mr. Bates, is 
much better qualified to answer your enquiries, having 
received additional 

(Manuscript torn.) 
salt water could be gotten in hundreds of other places; 
particularly up the Missouri; as to the lead mines it is 
well known that the lead region extends from the head 
waters of St. Francois to near Prarie Des Chieus and 
cross the Mississippi into the Michigan and Illinois 
state. New discoveries are daily made tind notwith- 
standing the provision of the law not to.^ell lead mines 



122 



or land containiiiji iiiincral, llx' provision proves nuj^a- 
tory, and indeed there would be or should not be anj 
land Nold in the counties of Washiniitou, of T.a Mine. 
\«*. Mineral is found on the best farniinj; land and 
where it is some times the h'asl expected, I there- 
fore think that all the i)ubli(' lamls oii^lit to be oft"ered 
for sale without reserve, with this dilTerenee, perhaps, 
that where th(» land is known to contain lead, mineral 
or very valnabl*' sail licks, llu' niininnini price oiinlit lo 
be hij^her than for common land and that one or two 
sectionis of land oui;ht to be annexed to each salt lick, 
in order to secure fuel. 

In turninj; to the sjx'cial re])ort of the commissioners 
eoneerninj; lead mines, salt springs, you will perceive 
that non«^ of the claims for that descri]>tion <tf land were 
confirmed, not because they were all destitute of legal 
merits, but becauise the commissioners had onW power 
to report opinions on the same, and as Congress has 
not as yet acted u])on these claims, the bidders thereof 
are kept in suspense and uncertainty ever since, which 
})re vents enterprise, (dieeks, industry and population. 
A j»Teat many of tlu'se claims are for small (luantities 
of land, they are held by actual settlers who had 

(Manuscript Destroyed.) 
^Ir. Benton was the counsel and aiient of the claimants 
for large claims of land before he was elected to the 
?5enate. He chiefly owes his seat, there to theii- influ- 
ence. He is entirely devoted to them. There is a judg- 
ment entered against him in favor of the V. S. in the 
l)istrict Court for the State of Missouri for a balance of 
money unaccounted by him w liilsl he was an otlici^' in 
the army. He owed twelve or thirteen thousand dol- 
lars to the Bank of ^lissoui'i. This debt has been since 
transferred to the U. S. There were at the last term of 



123 



the court for the county of St. Louis several executions 
issued auainst him. His property was advertisod for 
isalo, but all of it is incumbered with mortgages for 
sunus equal) to the value thereof. He has not been 
in this state since the last session of Congress, All 
his hopes rest upon the confirmation of the large claims*. 
If he dof'8 not tsucceed he is irretrievably lost. You 
may imagine that he will not be idle during this ses- 
sion. 

I propose to present you in the course of a week or 
two a minute view of the French and Spanish land 
claims in order that you ma^' be the better able to in- 
form your friends in congress and put them on their 
guard. I have done so nnself for these many years. 
Mr. B. is not without guessing that I am endeavoring 
to bailie his schemes. I am fully determined to go the 
whole length and to be consistent to the end of my 
days as a public and private man. The republic or the 
public thing re(]uires a corresponding public spirit from 
every member of the community. Indeed, a citizen 
has, strictly speaking, a public character. Omnis homo 
miles omnis homo civilis. Not doubting that this is a 
practical axiom with you, I feel the greatest encourage- 
ment in giving you any information that I may possess 
or obtain. I am, 

With respect, &e., 



December 26, 1823. 
(Substance.) 
Geo. Graham, 

Advising him that Benton has reported in Senate, 
19th February, 1823, a bill on the petition or memorial 
of the Legivslature of Missouri. The memorial pray for 
definitive decision of French and Spanish land claims 

124 



by competent tribunals. The bill provides for reference 
of claims to iccoi'der of land titles for opinions, etc. 
This bill has ])ass( d the Senate and is now before the 
house of represenlatncs. The same latter states that 
a bill originated in ami passed (he senate durinj^- the 
session before last, providinji for the reference of same 
claims to a court of the U. S. for decision. A similar 
bill was repoiled in I lie lious(^ of re]»resentatives same 
session. J>oth thes<* bills are on the tiles of the house 
of representatives. 

Mr. Scott has taken good care not to call them up. No 
doubt but Mr. Scott, who is a laud claimant, act in con- 
cert with Mr. Benton who was agent and counsel of 
land claimants before he had a seat in the Senate, and 
who owes his seat chietly to the intrigues of the land 
claimants. 

Both of them dread nothing more than a referrence to 
the judiciary, and they will use every possible endeavor 
to procure the final passage of the bill for the referrence 
to the recorder where land claimants may proceed ex- 
parte. Should they .succeed the proceedings of the 
former board which was composed of three commission- 
ers will be revised, enlarged by the recorder alone, or 
rather, the same thing will be done over again by a 
single officer, and with less safety. Messrs. Lowndes 
and others well versed with the subject were of the 
o])inion that the claims against w hich the commission- 
ers had reported should be referred to a court of law. 
This opinion was i>revailing when two bills were re- 
|i()il(d in the respective houses adopting that prin('ii)le. 
The same reason exists as did then. The memorial of 
the legislature demands it in concurrence with the in- 
terest Qf the U. S. 



125 



You have it in your power to advise and alarm your 
friends in tlie liouse of representatives and make them 
a^are of the dangerous tendency of the bill referring 
the claims to tlie recorder. 

With respect, 



January 21st, 1824. 
Geo. Graham, 

Sir: — Permit me to introduce to you Col. Justus Post 
of Misst)uri. Mr. Post is settled since seven or eight 
years nvwv St. Louis. I hav<^ the ])leasure since nearly 
that time to h«* acquainted with him. He has been 
empU)yed last fall as an engineer under the authority 
of the state of Illinois to ascertain the practicability of 
making a canal from Lake Michigan to the Mississippi 
by the Illinois Kiver, &c. Of course he is able to give 
very interesting and minute information relative to this 
important subject. As from recent transactions it is 
considered here as probable that the office of surveyor 
of the U. S. for Illinois, Missouri and Arkansas will be- 
come vacant perhaps before the adjournment of Ton- 
gress, 1 have taken the liberty to recommend Mr. Post 
to the Scy. of the Treasury as a person ])erfectly quali- 
fied to fill- that office. I beg leave to request your sup- 
port in his favor if you have not taken any engagement 
to recomuieud any other person. 

Respectfully yours, etc., 

The foreaoinu delivered to Col. Post. 



August 4, 1824. 
Gk Graham, 

Sir: — Having leanuHl that Mr. Fred Bates has re- 
signed or is about resigning the office of Kecoi-der of 
Laud Titles for the state of Missouri, permit me to 

12(> 



recommend to your attention Tlieodore PTnnt of the 
couuty of St. Louis, and solicit your support in his favor 
for that ofllcc. 1 believe him fully (lualitied to dis- 
('har^<' tlic (lnli«'vS lliercdf. 

The wife of Mi*. Hunt is my dau^ldor. He is, at this 
time, out of business, and 1 am very anxious of seeing 
liim doing something. 

I am. &r., 

J. B. C. L. 



Wm. H. Crawford, 

(Same tenor as the preceding.) 



Augiivst 4, 1824. 



August 4, 1824. 



'& 



James Monroe, 

(Same tenor with this addition.) 

This extreme anxiety will, 1 hope, excuse me with 
you for this direct application. I assure you that it 
never shall be repeated on any other occasion. 

Respectfully, &c., 



Wm. Lucas, 

(Letter to, by Col. Fairis, Newport, about 12th No- 
vember.) 



St. L.uiis. December 7th, 1824. 
Geo. Graham, 

Sir: — Having been reciuosicd by the attorney of the 
V. S. for the (lislrict of Missouii. and also by tin* judge 
of I lie same district to take part in the arguments on 
the 1st case brought before that court under the act of 
Congress proxidiug for the trial of the Spanish and 

127 



French land claims within the bounds of the state of 
Missouri; as tliese .aeutlemen expected, I presume, tliat 
from the opportunities I have had as one of the former 
hind commissioners to understand the principles gov- 
erning those claims I niiglit throw some light upon a 
subject as yet but little known and unexplored by the 
Bar and the Bench. 

I have consented to undertake that arduous task in 
consequence of which I liave argued the case at full 
length upon a demurrer. 

Tlie counsel of the claimants have read in court out 
of a manuscript, what they term to be the 81«t art. of 
an ordinance of the Inteiidants of New Spain, and some 
other extracts from other art. of the same ordinance 
which Mr. T. H. Benton, one of the counsel of the laud 
claimants has stated to have been translated from a 
Spanish book found in the office of the Secy, of State. 
If the book could not be obtained, at least the ordinance 
ought not to have been copied off partially. There is 
eA'ery reason to suspect that a cutting has taken place 
to suit only the purposes of the land claimants. In 
my opinion the interest of the U. S. and of individuals 
who have adverse claims urgently requires that the 
Spanish book ineiHioued by Mr. Benton should be trans- 
mitted to the attitrncy of the U. S. for Missouri or to 
myself, and il it is not practicable, at any rate the whole 
ordinance which contains that 81st act ought to be 
transmitted both in S])anish and translated, duly cer- 
titied, together with a statement of the title of the book 
from which it is taken. 

It is also not less necessary to procure the 4th book 
of the collection of the laws of Spain, and if not a cer- 
tified copy of the law 15, title 12tli, contained in the 
same book. The regulations of Count O'Keillv of the 



128 



18 Februar}', 1770 relative to the distribution of l:iii<l 
in Louisijinn; tlio order of tlie kinii of Si)ain of tlir 241 li 
Aujiust, 1770, whereby the jxtwei- of i;Tantinu land in 
the province of Louisiana was placed iu the military 
and civil iioverninent, are likewise wanted. 

I hope sir, I hat from your well known zeal for the 
l)ublic .service, and from the sitnati<tn which you oc- 
cupy, no endeavors will be wanting on your part to pro- 
cure those documents, or such of them as can be ob- 
tained. I need not mention to you that the laud claim- 
ants are not lackinj; of alertness and activity. Keniiss- 
ness might be fatal to the best interest^; of the U. S. 
There is not less than ir)000()0 arpens of the be.st land of 
Missouri depending on the proper and improper man- 
agement of the cases which will be tried before the 
district court. 

I beg leave to remark that na executor of the last 
will of ( 'harh^s Lucas, deceased, who was my son, I have 
an interest in several concessions issued by the last 
Spanish lieutenant governor of St. Louis for about 2500 
ar])ens of land which he held by purchase. Notwith- 
standing this I have taken my stand against the conces- 
*<ious of the sniiH' kind, whilst I have no interest what- 
CA'er adverse to any of the Spani.sh claims, but a New 
Madrid location for 820 acres of land which I have pur- 
chased at the sheriff's sale. This must necessarily con- 
vince you that nndeviatiiigly I attend to tli*' interests 
of the r. S. at any sa<ritice of peace, popularity and 

wealth. I am. ,, ,, ,, 

Kespectfully, 



St. Louiy, Feby. 15th, 1825. 
Geo. Graham, 

Dear Sir: — Yonr favor of the 0th ult. was received 
a week since. You inform me that you had not in your 

120 



power to see Mr. Benton until loday (to-wit, 9tli) to 
obtain from him the title of the book from which he 
took the extract alhided to. 1 certainly should prefer 
to have the opportunity of perusing the Avhole book. 
But, nevertheless the purpose will be answered if a 
duly certified copy or transcript of the ordinance of the 
intendants of New Spain and of the regulations of the 
year 1754. I presume that this can be accomplished 
without taking the book in question from the ofl&ce of 
the Secy, of State. The object is well worth while the 
trouble or expense of transcribing that ordinance in 
extenso. There is nothing less than ISOOOOi acres of 
choice land in Missouri depending upon the decision of 
these claims. Permit me to suggest to you that at the 
same time it may still be useful to obtain through Mr. 
Livingston any book concerning the domains of Spain 
and the manner of disposing thereof. But the latter 
means of information by or from New Orleans is too pre- 
carious and dilatory to be entirely depended upon. It 
is perhaps necessary to inform you that Mr. Benton 
certainly was, and I believe is as yet the counsel of 
several land claimants, that he has received the zealous 
support of the land claimants generally at his election 
to the Senate. That to my certain knowledge, on all 
questions before the Senate relating to these claims, 
he has acted and spoken in the spirit of a private agent 
and not of a senator. It is he who has procured an 
extract of the Spanish laws before alluded to. 

I have no kind of confidence in his extracts. There 
is in my opinion no safety but in having a transcript of 
the whole law. Lest you should suspect me to be un- 
just, or at least to entertain groundless apprehensions 
with respect to Mr. B. permit me to lay before you a 
few specimens of his want of common honesty. There 



130 



is at this day or if not there was six months af;o an 
unsatisfied jndoment against him in the District Court 
(»f th(^ V. S. for a balance of ])uhlic money placed in his 
hands as far back as <hu'ing last war whilst he held a 
commission In the army. He was one of the directors 
of the Hank of .Missouri at the time he stopped pay- 
ment. You know that the U. S. had a deposit in that 
bank .finoooo. Well sir, Mr. B., contrary and in viola- 
tion of the eliaiter of that bank, which provides that 
no more than |.'i()00 shall be loaned to any directcu', has 
collusively with the other directors obtained a loan 
of not less than |>!()()0 and in virtue of the transfer made 
by the bank to the U. S. of its right and credits is 
actually indebted to the U. S. for that sum. A merch- 
ant of rhihulelphia nained Counsier transmitted him 
some years ago, a note or two for collection for about 
12000. After a reasonable time had elapsed the merch- 
ant wi'ote him resjiectively and never had any answer. 
At last an agent of his came to St. Louis about two 
years ago. ^Ir. B. was not there. The agent found 
that a judgment had been obtained by Mr. B. but there 
was no satisfaction entere<l. lie ai)plied to the person 
against whom the judgment had been obtained who 
showed him by the receipt of Mr. H. that he had satistied 
the judgment long before this. Seeing the agent and 
attorney to direct a suit against .Mr. B. On the return 
of the latter to St. Louis, which wa^s some time last 
summer, instead of (lischarging this sacred obligation, 
he confessed judgment in the clerk's ottice for the sum 
due. 

The real property which he owns in St. Louis and any 
where else in this state! is mortgaged and bound by 
judgments for more than it is worth. There would be 
no end in relating to you what I know of the particu* 



131 



lar circumstances which characterize Mr. B. I hope 1 
have said enough to justify mv suspicions. I am, 



May 3d, 1825. 
Geo. Graham, Commissioner, 

Sir: — The two transcripts of certain Spanish laws 
and ordinances in Spanish and English which you have 
directed to me liave been received. The event has fully 
justified m^^ suspicions. 

The meagre extract which has been exhibited in 
court proves to be nothing else but a selection made by 
Mr. Benton, of such parts of an ordinance of the king of 
Spain as might answer but the purposes of the land 
claimants in Missouri. The course he has adopted is 
unworthy of a counsellor that would value candour and 
reputation. What shall we say then of a senator so 
far forgetting himself? Although the counsel of a 
claimant in court for 10000 aipens of land, declared that 
the extract had been made under the direction of Mr. 
Benton and contained every provision relating to the 
subject, nevertheless, the transcript which I have re- 
ceived from you proves beyond all doubt that Benton is 
guilty at least of the suppression of important truth. 
He had the precaution, for example, to insert in his 
extract but a small part of a preamble of a law in order 
to avoid mentioning a reference made in the same to 
two royal ordinances, the one published by I^hilip the 
5th, and tlie otlier by Ferdinand the 6th, of the 4th of 
July, 1718, and of the 3d of October, 1749. Most prob- 
ably he had a sight of them, and there is every reason 
to suppose that they don't answer his end, therefore wo 
must be kept ignorant of the existence of these laws. 
He has likewise (tmitted io insert in his extract several 
articles of the law which he has extracted from, al- 

J32 



though they have a direct bearing on the case before 
the court, and lie has also omitted entirely the 22 laws 
contained in one of the transcripts which I have re- 
C(Mve<l from yon, stiled, "Of the Sale, Composition and 
Grant of Lands, Ground and Waters. Liber l\\ 
Title 12." These are fatal to the generality of the laud 
claims in Missouri. The impropriety of thus cutting 
and selecting from a law by a party to a suit is too mani- 
fest to need a comment. Nothing less than the des- 
perateness of Mr. Benton as agent and partner, could 
induce him to attempt to impose so grossly upon the 
court and his country. If the laws of Philip and Fer- 
dinand before alluded to could be conveniently pro- 
cured, 1 sliould like to have a copy of them, although I 
am persuaded that we are pretty safe without them. 

Respectfully, 



St. Louis, Aug. 21st, 1825. 
George Graham, 

Sir: — Having an interest in the enclosed patent cer- 
tificate for one moitie of the land for which it is issued, 
1 request you to issue a patent upon the same as soon as 
convenient. 

I hope you will have the goodness to direct it to me. 

This is the only claim \> hich I have of this kind. 1 
bought it at the sheriff's sale. I am. 

Respectfully, &c., 



Ma\ 23, 1827. 
Geo. Graham, 

Sir: — Believing that my letter to you of Aug. 21st, 
1825, enclosing a patent certificate has come safe to 
your hand, I expected long since to receive a i>atent in 

133 



consequence of the same, I have heard, however, that 
a caveat or notice against issiiiuji siicli a patent has 
been entered in your office by the heirs of James Makay, 
deceased, as they chiim the land to which the said cer- 
tificate relates in pursuance of a concession alleged to 
have been issued under tlie Spanish government. It 
may be observed that no notice was tiled at any time of 
that claim in tlie office of recorder of kind titles under 
the various acts of Congress providing for the same. 
That no survey appears of record nor ever was made 
in pursuance of that concession, and if the location of 
Baptiste La Fleur in whose name a patent certificate 
has issued under the authority of an act of Congress for 
the relief of the inhabitants of th(- late county of New 
^Madrid had not been made the same land would have 
been sold or at least offered for sale along with the pub- 
lic lands situate in the same parts of the state, and at 
all events, should the representatives of James Makay, 
the original grantee, be able to establish the legality 
of their claims, they would be entitled under the act 
enabling the claimants to land in pursuance of conces- 
sion or grant derived from the French or Spanish gov- 
ernments to try the validity of their titles, &c., an equi- 
valent out of the unapi)ropriated lands of the U. S. if 
the land which they claimed has been previously dis- 
posed of, so the caveat which they have entered con- 
sidering this and also their latches and neglect is at 
best vexatious and oppressive. But, sir, inde|)endent 
of these considerations, permit me to submit that the 
powers and duties which the act for the relief of the 
inhabitants of the late county of New Madrid, &c., con- 
fer or imposes upon the commissioner of the general 
land office are merely ministerial. That under the 3d 
sect, of the said act "a certificate issued by the recorder 



134 



of land titles in favor of a party boini; transmitted to 
the commissioner of the general land office shall entitle 
the party to a patent to be iissued in the like manner 
as provided by law for other pnblic lands." 

I see nothing that can qualify the obligation the com- 
missioner is under to issue the patent demanded but 
tliesc: "as the same section makes it the duty of the 
recorder of land titles to transmit a report of the claims 
allowc^l and locations made under this act to the com- 
missioner of the general land office." It is self-evident 
that if such a report has not been made of the proceed- 
iugs of the recorder, or if made, such proceedings pre 
sent on their face any sub.stantial departure or omission 
of what the law prescribes the recorder to do or even 
any material discrepancy between these proceedings 
and the patent certificate, then, and only then. Baptist 
Lafleur or his representatives are not entitled to a 
patent. If there is such a defect I hope you will be so 
good as to let me know it with as little delay as possible. 
If there is not, I renew my application to you for a 
patent to which the laws "entities'' me. Could a caveat 
predicated only on the suggestion of an adverse claim 
prevent the issuing of a patent, there might be a pre- 
vention ad finitum for nothing is more easy than to 
suggest again and again a clash or interference. 

It is reported here that you are sustained in re- 
fusing patents in such cases by the opinion of the ai- 
torney lieneral. Sir, permit me to remark that pro- 
vided the recorder of land titles has transmitted to your 
office a report of the claims allowed and locations made 
under this act, and provided also the patent certificate 
in favor of H;'>])tiste Lafieur present no discrepancy or 
variance from the same report, the patent certificate is 
the entire and complete evidence which entitles a party 



135 



to a patent in either case the ministerial course of the 
commissioner is so plainly marked out that it is unac- 
countable to me that the attorney jicneral should have 
been consulted. He mij>ht possibly have suggested a 
better project of a law if he had been consulted before 
this one was passed, but there is no reason or argument 
however strong that can do away or suspend the pro- 
vision of a law and particularly when it partakes with 
the character of contract and entitles a party to a 
patent. 

However, should you persevere in refusing a patent, 
I then request you to send me back the patent certifi- 
cate without delay as I shall be under the necessity to 
make an exhibit of it at a trial wiiich is to take place 
at the next term of the District Court of the U. S. com- 
mencing at St. Louis on tlie 3rd Monday of June next. 



St. Louis, June 25, 1827. 
Geo. Graham, 

Sir: — By the enclosed certificate it will appear to you 
that the only obstacle which I suppose existed in your 
mind to the issuing of a patent upon a patent certificate 
of the recorder of land titles, &c., in fav(U' of Baptist 
Lefleur is removed there is no more case subjudice. If 
you have yet the certificate in your possession, I hope 
you will be so good as to have the patent issued as soon 
as you conveniently can. If you have transmitted it 
to me as T eventually requested you to do it by my 
letter of the 23d ulto. I shall send it to you back again 
as soon as received. 

Mangre all the airs of confidence, T. H. Benton and 
other agents of the land claimants in Missouri had put 
on, they have shrunk when they have been brought 

136 



to a crisis; tlipy have preforrod dismissin*^ all their 
suits, ISl in imnibcr, iK'iHlin<i, before the court sittin<:: at 
St. Louis, tliMii to conic to a trial. This lli<iht frdin a 
coui-t (if hiw si>(';iks ;i voliiiuc against those clainu^. It 
justifies the decisions and opinions whicli I hav<- 
formerly ^iven on those chiinis as land eoniniissioner, 
and the ar«>unienfs wliicli I have ur^ed two or three 
years ago before the Dislriet Court sitting at St. Louis, 
wIk'u th«^ jiKliie and the district attorn(\y requested nie 
to speak upon a certain case embracing geneial jtrinci- 
ples. It operates as a virtual acknowledgment that I 
have b«'en ciuelly slandered and i)ersecuted during 20 
years for having discharged public duties with correct- 
ness and tidelity. 

Respectfully, &c., 



St. Louis, Jany. 24, 1828. 
J. R. Hayden, 

Sir: — I have received your favors of the 8tli December, 
1S2T, with the enclosure. T have delayed until now 
sending you the papei-s here enclosed, exi)ecting a pri- 
vate opportunity. Lest, however, you should be pre- 
vented to institute your wuit before the next term of 
coui't, r have at last determined to forward them by 
mail, to-wit: Deed of (}uit Claim (»f James Tanner, 
dated lS2(i, for 500 arpeiis originally owne<l by Thos. 
Duff Senior which recites and contirni the original deed 
fr(un the same to C. Lucas. 

Certiticjite and plat of survey, patent certificate, cer- 
titicate of recorder of land titles, vouching that a cer- 
tificate of location has issued fiom his ottice. 

1 shouhl have insisted with the (lenl. Surveyor for a 
copy of the certificate of location which is lodged in his 

137 



office, was it not that in ni}- opinion the patent certifi- 
cate ri.ses a legal i)re.sumptiou that everything which 
the law prescribes has been complied with. Be pleased 
to let nic know as soon as possible the receipt of the 
letter and of the muniments it contains. 

Yours, &c., 



Jany. 4th, 1822. 
David Holmes, 

Sir: — Altlutugh T had not the pleasure of seeing you 
since we were in Congress together, nevertheless I have 
not failed of frecjueut opi)ortunities to hear of you since. 
Long before now I intended to go to New Orleans. If I 
had realized that project I certainly should not have 
passed without giving you a call. The idea that I have 
formed of your feedings and disposition induces me now 
to call your attention upon a subject of no importance 
but to me. 

It has been reported at Washington during the last 
session of Congress that I had written to several mem- 
bers of Congress. (The residue about the same as to W. 
Lowrie, December 27, 1821. About speaking to Presi- 
dent omitted.) 



St. Louis, Augt. 29th, 1818. 
Theo. Hunt, 

Sir: — I saw a day or two ago Mr. Terrell of New Mad- 
rid. I showed him the bundle of papers on the wrapper 
of which is written "Theo. Hunt and Charles Lucas 
Deeds". He appeared to be very conversant with the 
(Subject. I asked him if he would take the agency of 
these claims in case you would give your consent. He 
told me he had no objection. Believing that from local 
knowledge previous communications with the late 

138 



Charles Lucas and other opportunities, he is as weU 
qualified as anybodj else, an<l ])erha])s better, to trans- 
act this bnsiiu'ss, 1 j)i(ip(»se to have him ai)pointe<l a^eiit 
in the abov*' mentioned eoneerns. If you concur with 
mc (111 this, you Mill In- pleased to come to St. f.ouis as 
soon as possibh' to execute a power of Att<n*eny. If you 
have any objection to call at my house you may desig- 
nate any place where we can meet with. 

Yours, &c., 

J. B. C. L. 

N. B. — Mr. Terrell informs me that he will remain 
here about two weeks from this time. 
Capt. Theo. Hunt. 



St. Louis, Sept. 18th, 1818. 
Theodore Hunt, 

Sir: — Your letter of the 31t<t of Augt. has been re- 
ceived. Owing to a pressure of business 1 have been 
thus dilatory in writing again. For the purpose of be- 
ing, if possibh, more explicit than I have been in my 
letter of the 29tli of Augt. and also to do away any 
mi.sconception and obtain from you that direct auvswer 
which 1 expected by your letter, I beg leave to state to 
y«)U, lest you should have forgotten, that the papers to 
which I allude in my tirst letter and I showed to Mr. 
Terrell contain a detxl of sale by indenture of Joshua 
Humphrey's and Mary his wife to Theodore Hunt of St. 
Louis, dat<'d 1st February, ISKI, of sundry tracts or par- 
cels of land, and aLso number of other deeds of sale 
made or executed to Chas. Lucas of divers tracts of land 
or claims to land situate in the county of New Madrid 
together with other tithes and <1ocumeiits relating to the 
same, believing then and believing likewise at present 

139 



that you and Charles had an interest common in all 
those claims, 1 thus proposed Mr. Terrell to be ap- 
pointed agent in those concerns. I am still in the same 
intention. Whether since the death of C. Lucas you 
have made in the same count}' new purchase or not is not 
for me to enquire. If j'ou have it is quite supertluous to 
inform me that you have, or are going to appoint Mr. 
Terrell or any other person as your attorney;, for it mat- 
ters not to me how 3'ou conduct your business, when un- 
connected with the estate of the late ('has. Lucajs or any 
interest of the said estate. In order to understand each 
other better hereafter I beg leave to put two or three 
questions to you. 

1st. ^^'als there a partnership or common concern 
existing at any time between you and Charles Lucas in 
the purchase made by you or him of land situate in the 
county of New Madrid? 

2d. Had Charles Lucas at any time an interest in the 
purchase or purchases of land or claims to land which 
you made of Joshua Humphrey's and Mary his wife? 

4th. Had Charles Lucas at the time of his decease an 
interest in the purchase made by jou of Humphrey's 
and for what part? 

I hope that you will be pleased to convey your writ- 
ten answer to these questions by a sure opportunity 
within a short time. 

This will be handed to you by Adrian. You may 
send me your answer by the same opportunity. 

I think it more advantageous for the estate to rise 
funds from the sales of tlie New Madrid land or claims 
that are held in partnership, than from any other source. 

I still propose to give to Mr. Terrell the agency as 
spoken of in my letter of the 29th whether the land ojj 



140 



claims to land be licld in vour name or tliat of Charles 
provided thcv bv sucii as tlir rslatc lias an interest in. 

I have nitt found the certificate which Mr. Richardson 
wishes to iMircliase. I think it better not to conclude 
with Mr. Douuhiss. I am informed that a licntleman 
with liis familv now a1 Louisville is wisliin^ to have a 
farm near St. Louis. Probably this mav suit him. 

Your s'v't, 

J. B. C. L. 

P. S. — You may have the bundle papers on the wrap 
per of which is written de«^ds of Theodore Hunt and 
Charles Lucas on giving nie a recei])t for the same. Vour 
answer to this, however, i<^ expected before the deliv<'rv. 

Thir<l <iuestion omitted in the copy and inserted here 
from the repetition of questions in Mr. T. Hunt's answer 
of the 28th of September, 1818. 

3d ()uestion. Did Charles Lucas ])ay or not an eipial 
part of the purchase money mentioned inl the deed 
above mentioned of Joshua Humphrey \s and Mary his 
wife? 



January 10th. 1820. 
Theo. Hunt, 

After having presented to you, thro the hand of 
\\'m. Lucas, for your {signature and seal, the necessary 
iustiumeiit of writing, to convey to the heiis and repre- 
sentatives of ('. Lucas, deceased, one half of the right 
you have to the tract of land, situate near Cote lirilliaut 
whicli you hold as repre.scntative of Habtiste I^tieuer. 
After also jiaving urged you i('])eatedly in person to do 
that act of justice to the estate, which you owe both as 
an individual and as an execut(U' of the estate of C. 
Luca.s deceased. I expected that if the f<uiu of the writ- 
ing presented to you did not p<'rfectly come to your 
mind, at any rate you would have another drawn in your 

141 



own way that would substantially attain the object, but 
to my astonishment you have not offered any substitute, 
altho a lonn time has elapsed ssince. In order to obviate 
a^l possibh' objections, and save you any trouble, I have 
drawn a new instrument of writin«», providing- amply 
for the security of 3'Our right in every possible emer- 
gency, which will be handed you by W. Lucas. 

I request you, sir, to execute the deed demanded, in 
the inann(M' and form ]»r(»\ ided in that writing, or in any 
other way that will answer the sanu^ purpose. Tht 
long delays I have met with on the ])resent occasion, 
ami)ly justihcs me in requiring of you that tlie deed in 
cpiestion be cxcciitcMl ;ni(l di^livcrcd to me not later than 
Wednesday next, or rise any further delay will be con- 
strued by me as an absolute lefusal. 

(Sig.) JNO. B. C. LUCAS. 



St. Louis, July 5, 1821. 
Theo. Hunt, 

Sir: — Contrary to my expectation on of the deputies 
of Mr. Brown, Sheriff, presented me a few days ago past, 
an execution in favor of Isaac Patterson, for one hun- 
dred dollars, prin(ii)al, and nineteen dollars of cost, in 
pursuance of a judgment obtained against me at the 
last Ai)ril term of the Circuit Court for the county of 
St. Louis. 

Remembering but imi)erfectly the transaction which 
you and myself had with Patterson, I have looked to the 
])aj)(M>; which gave occasion to it. I have found on the 
back of a certain bond under the hand and seal of C. 
Lucas, the following: 

"Received this 12th day of November, 1810, |100 in 
full of all considerations for the within bond, one-half 

112 



beiujj; paid b,v John B. C. Lucas and Theodore Hunt as 
executors of the estate of the late Charh's Lucas, and 
tlie other half paid 1)3' Theodore Hunt as witness my 
hand and seal the da^^ and date above written. 

(Signed) ISAAC' J»ATTEKSON. 

Witness 

W. M. LUCAS." 

N. B. — This receii)t is in your han-l writinji. I n^-ol- 
lect also that you advised the propriety of taking- 
such a course with respect to Pattenson. You know 
also that the money due to Patterson by the estate of 
('. Lucas was not actually \rAu\ as mentioned in the re- 
ceipt. Two notes were drawn by yom-isclf each for one 
hundred dollars, in favor of Isaac Patterson, which were 
sijiued and sealed by both of us. One of those notes 
dated 12th of November, 1819, was presented to me on 
the 26th of February, 1820, I paid it then. Nothing is 
more clear than that each of us assume<l or rather in- 
tended to assume to pay one moety of these |200. For 
that purpose two notes were drawn and if I signed them 
both it was 1 i»i-esiinie for the satisfaction of Mr. Bat- 
tel sou and couhl not»be f(»r any other puri)ose. 

Beside these it appears from the tenor of the above 
receipt that one-half of the .|4()0 has been paid by you 
and myself as executors which w<tuld not be truly the 
case if I had to satisfy the judunicnt for which an exe- 
cution is n<tw issued, 

1 i-etpiest you. sir, to salisl'y it without <lelay. or let 
me know that you will not do it, that I may i)repare 
ill (irder to avoid having my property executed and sold 
tor your <lebts. 

I beg leave also to inform you that a summons has 
been served on the 2Tth ulto. ui)ou me to appear at the 
next term of the circuit court f«u- the county of St. Louis 

143 



to answer the demand of a certain Thomas Bray, assig- 
nee of Maximiis Gilbert, for the payment of three 
promissory notes executed at Washin<«ton on tlie l«t 
day of March, 1817, by Kufus Easton and C. LiicaK in 
favor of (lilbert, the 1st beinj; for |735, the 2d for |775 
r»nd the 3d for f21. I wish to advise with you about 
what may be (U)ne about this suit. 

I am your svt., 

J. B. C. L. 



St. Louis, Jany. 13, 1822. 
Theodore Hunt, 

Sir: — Ilavinii been served with a notice of an order of 
the court of St. Louis as one of tlie executors of the last 
will and testament of (\ Lucas, deceased, to settle at the 
next term of the same, which commences on the 3d 
Monday of this month, the accounts of the said adminis- 
tration, so far as it «>oes. haviui;" also examined the in- 
ventory sijiued by you and myself which is filed in the 
clerk's office, this inventory bcinn jiartinlly made, ow- 
ini*. I presuuK'. to want of due time before my journey 
to W ashiniiton in December, 1817, 1 think it necessary 
to file before ihe settinu of the court, an additional in- 
ventory, full and complete. 1 therefore beg leave to 
name to you Friday next to have the same signed and 
tiled. I have at home the memorandum or list of all 
the items. If you have any objection to meet at my 
house, any other [)lace will suit me that you will be 
pleased to designate. 

I expect from you the favor of an answer as soon as 

convenient, sir. I am, 

Yours, 

J. B. C. L. 
144 



St. Louis, April 7, 1822. 
Theodore Hunt, 

('a])t. Jos. r. Brown has hitely informed nic that 
owiiii; td tlir iiitcrfci'ciicc of a prc-nnption r'l^hi chiiincd 
by Matlicw Kcir with the New Madrid hx-atioii for (140 
acres behui^ini; to the estate of tlic hitc ('. Lucas ad- 
joininji' th«' Iniid claiincd iiiuhi SwainV settlement. 
Voiii' nic of o|»iiiioii tliaf the survey be altered so as 
to add to tlic .Miidrid location out of the land claimed 
under Swain's the s.-iine (pianlity which intei-feres with 
Kerr's claim. 

I beg- lea\'e to propose to 3'ou two other modes of dis- 
posinii' of the location, the first is to remove the location 
entirely, iu which case I am perfectly sa tithed from the 
information I have ol)t;iiued during my late journey up 
the Missouri and on Salt Kivei*. There is an abundance 
of the very best land well timbered and watered re- 
linquished under the law jirantin^- relief to purchasers 
of public lands w iiiiiu seven or eiiiht miles from Frank- 
lin and up the Missisf<ippi above Salt Kiver. of which 
in my oj)inion a section is worth three of such land as 
about Swain's place. The country is now perfectly well 
exphucd and a most valuable location can be made 
with certainty and ease, if this proposition does not 
meet with your a])i)robatiou. 

I ue.xt propose to locate the Madrid claim upon the 
whole {section 'M\, ami the residue on the fractional sec- 
tion 24, whi(h is the strij) marhed (1) in the draft here 
enclosed, so tiuit at the time of the sale there remains 
but nine aci-es to be bouiiht of the U. S. 1 should prefer 
uiuch my first proposal. 

Yours, &c., 



14r) 



June 6th, 1823. 
Theodore Hunt, 

(Requesting him to come tomorrow to sign another 
answer to Rufus Easton. Bill of complaint intended to 
contain in addition to the list of land an omitted item 
of sundry pieces of Joiner Work belonging to the estate. 
Apprized to |82.50. This letter sent same day by ex^ 
press. 



St. Louis, Jany. 4th, 1824. 

(Letter to the same as preceding to John Randolph, 
with this addition after the words "mere nominal 
check", third line last page. 
Samuel D. Ingham, 

Even if the recorder should recommend one-half of 
their claims and Congress should sanction it, they 
would still contend that they are not concluded for the 
balance and for that remaining part, Congress would 
stand in the same situation as it is now. 

Would it not be more congenial with the spirit of 
legislation through representatives that Congress con- 
firm, I should say grant, at once all the claims and 
take to themselves the whole responsibility to their 
constituents, than to throw it upon an obscure individ- 
ual or at least divide it with him. 

Mr. Scott will not fail to make every exertion during 
the present session to procure the passage of the bill 
for the reference to the recorder. To my certain knowl- 
edge Mr. Scott is a Spanish land claimant. He ought 
not to vote on such a question on calling for the read- 
ing of the memorial on which this bill ought to be 
founded and is nominally so. 

14(; 



The discrepancy will fully justify an amendment 
which ouiiht to <i,o to a referrence to the judiciarv with 
all the clauses niid conditions specified in the hill con- 
tainini* thai priuciph' which ori<»inatcMi in the Senate 

at the session hcfoic the hist. 

Yours, 



St. Louis, Jany. 4th, 1824. 
Thomas Newton, 

(Letter to, substance about same as the preceding to 
John Randolph and Samuel D. Ingham.) 



Samuel D. Ingham, 

Sir: — Permit me to introduce 3'ou Mr. Wm. Russel of 
St. Louis. 1 am acquainted with him this great while 
and he was an intimate friend of my late son C. Lucas. 
I am confiihmt that if the latter was alive, he would 
have recommended him to your attention and politeness* 
<lnring his short slay at Washington. 

Ml'. Knss« 1 is a minute and accurate observer. None 
had better opportunities tlian him to exercise that 
faculty in ^Missouri and Arkansas, for, being owner of 
large quantities of land in both places, he had a particu- 
lar interest to exploiare and ascertain the various quali- 
ties of soil, mineral, their (pialities, i)roportiou, situation 
and otluM' natnral advantages. 

As our infant state must, at least, for a while, be 
frequently in need of the fostering hand of Congress, 
yon or any other of its members cannot but receive with 
plcasnrc the infoiniation which Mr. Kussel is fully com- 
petent to impart concerning our localities. 

Kespectfully, etc., 

147 



St. Louis, May 3d, 1822. 
David Johnson, Eecorder, 

(Letter to, in answer of his of 28 Jan^., 1822, request- 
ing to pay tax for patent. Observed that he had 
omitted to mention date of patent. Informing that I 
have put his business in charge of Amos Wheeler, Land 
Agent. Remember me to ^Icssrs. Lacock vt Moore and 
other friends. 

Kespectfully, &c.,) 



St. Louis, Jany. 4th, 1822. 
Richard M. Johnston, 

Sir: — Not having the advantage of a particular ac- 
quaintance with you, I should not presume to call your 
attention upon a subject of very little importance as it 
concerns me solely, if the sensibility of 3'our heart was 
not perfectly known to me. 

It has been reported at Washington during the last 
session of Congress. (Much same as to letter to Walter 
Lowrie of 27th of December, 1821.) 



St. Louis, Nov. 16, 1821. 
Ruffus King, 

Sir: — Having made to you in my letter of the year be- 
fore last a short exposition of the merit of the large and 
numerous claiuKs to land in the then territory of Mis- 
souri which are predicated on Spanish concessions, real 
or supposed, and have been reported against by the 
commissioners a])pointed for quieting and adjusting 
claims to land. «S:c., I shall at this time merely state to 
you that I am persuaded that greater efforts than ever 

148 



are going to be made to obtain the passage of some act 
in favor of tlios*^ claims. Every plausible^ tale will be 
told, every possible art will be us(m1 to insuare the Con- 
gress iuto some unguarded aet which will operate in a 
manner unforeseen. The aberrations from the funda- 
mental principles governing the rights of the U. S. to 
the form«M- Spanish domains which have taken place 
in llie act of the 14th of April, 1814 entitled "An Act 
for the Final Adjustment of Claims to Land, &c., will 
be urged as a sound provision and precedent which 
ought to be extended to all the claims remaining un- 
contirmed. No doubt but T. H. Benton will take the 
lead on that f^ubject in the Senate. HiwS circumstances 
are desperate, lie is one of tho«e direct<ns who, sans 
ceremonie, divided among themselves all the capital of 
the Bank of Missouri, and after that stopped payment, 
liaving embezzled the deposits of the U. S. and of indi- 
viduals, lie is the one, wh(» since the failure of the bank 
lias bought Mivssouri bank notes at 50 per cent of dis- 
count, and thus unbhishingly profits by the |)nblic <lis- 
iress and calamity consequent to his own wrong, lb' 
was elected in the Senate through the influence of the 
Spajiish land claimants, by one vote of majority. He 
was before his election their counsel and agent. 

I am credibly informed that part of his fees for his 
service are contingent to the confirmation of Spanish 
land claims and in the quantities that may be confirmed. 
The S])anisli land claimants having singled me as thb 
mo«t particular (d.ject of their resentment in conse- 
quence of having been generally less favorable to their 
claims than the other commissioners, and probably also 
because being mostly of French origin, and actually 
calling themselv(Y^ Freucli men they have been more 
disappointed with me. This has given an opi»(U'tunity 



U9 



to Mr. Benton and other American citizens interested 
in the land or otherwise jealous of m}' political stand- 
ing, to widen the breach as much ais possible between 
me and the ancient inhabitants. 

For these three or four years I have been represented 
as having made to several members of Congress, secret 
communications against the Spanish land claims, and 
more particularly I have been charged to have eucouir- 
aged several members from the uon slave holding^ 
states by false representations and other means to in- 
sert in the bill for authorizing Missouri to become a 
state, a clause inhibiting slavery, like to oppose the 
admission of the state on the score of the clause in the 
state constitution concerning free persons of color say- 
ing or giving to understand that if they held out against 
admission, a clause inhibiting slavery would at last be 
inserted in the constitution as the restrictionists or 
emancipators were daily gaining ground. 

It appears that Mr. Benton has secured some persons 
in the post office at St. Louis, in order to know with 
whom I corresponded at Washington, and who wrote 
to me from Washington, for I had no sooner written 
to you and received your answer, than I was denounced 
in his paper, the St. Louis Enquirer, as keeping an in- 
tercourse with Rufus King, »S:c.. &c., and reproached for 
doino this in the same manner as if I had committed 
treason. 

I freely confess that I have written to several other 
members of Congress, in order to alarm them and bel- 
ter guard them against the intrigue and insidiousness 
of the Spanish land claimants and their agents, but I 
never have written a word to any person at Washington 
directly or indirectly for or against what has been 
termed the Missouri questions. 



150 



I believe I owe also to Mr. Beutoii <1h* circulation of 
the last report a«iainst nie at Wasliiii^lon. At any rate 
I am sure that he has circulated it at his rcturu from 
\Vashiu«'(()n. In <loini»- so be expected to draw at home 
the public odiuni on nie ami destroy or disturb at Wash- 
iu|;ton the i^ood understandinii that exists between me 
and s«'veral numbers liom the slave holding states with 
whom he may suspect that I correspond on the sub- 
ject of Spanish land claims. 

You sir, and several other members from the north 
have been two years ago placed on the list of proscrip- 
tion in tho St. Louis Enquirer by its editor. I have on 
file the number that contains it. On making enquiry 
of him it will be found that in North Carolina where 
is born, in Tennessee where he did live for a long time, 
all is of a piece including bis directorship. Permit me 
to suggest that the safe and constitutional way is to 
enable the Spanish land claimants to present their 
claims within a given time before a judicial tribunal 
for trial. This is the only place for fair investigation, 
where tales and ex parte evidence will tiud no admission. 

I am, 

Respectfully, &c., 

J. B. C. L. 



St. Louis, Nov. 14, 1823. 
Rufus King, 

Si,.:_Y()ur favor of the 28th of Feby. last, together 
with the bill reported by Mr. Benton from the com- 
mittee on public lands, to which was referred the memo- 
rial (►f the legislature of Missouri .Vc«'.. was duly re- 
ceived. I was extremely surprise<l that Mr. Benton 
t^h(uild 1. resume to report a bill entirely o])posed to the 
views and wislies expressed by the memorial, for the 

151 



countrj' being greatly injured by tlie large tracts of 
land flaimed under the color of Spanish concessions 
which remain a perfect wilderness and intersect the 
settlements in various parts of the state, the people of 
this state havc^ the greatest interest that these claims 
be proiiiplly (hnided, whilst this bill takes a circuitous 
way to a^'oid decisions and refens tlie subject for a third 
time for the report of opinions only by the recorder, 
which, when done, will bring back the subject where 
it now is. I am still more surprised that the Senate 
would pass such a bill as it departis entirelj^ from the 
principle they had sanctioned at the preceding session 
in the bill which they had passed on the same subject, 
which provides for the reference of all the Spanish 
land claims to a court of justice for tinal adjudication. 
If this last bill had not been ch)gged with amendments 
in the House of Kepresentatives it would have certainly 
passed through that house, and the great majority of 
the inhabitants of Missouri would have been fully satis- 
fied of having before them the prospect of a nearly ap- 
proaching decision of those claims. 

You will perhaps be at a loss to account why Mr. B. 
has shown by the bill last reported so little regard to 
the wishes of the people of INIissouri as expressed by the 
nieuu)rial of the legislature. Let me repeat to you that 
Mr. B. owes in a great degree his seat in the Senate to 
the influence and intrigue of th(^ large land claimants, 
that he was their agent before he was elected; that he 
has an eventual interest in almost all the large claims; 
that he knows perfectly that those claims cannot bear 
the test of judicial investigation and that the first bill 
which he reported on that subject for referring those 
claims to a court of justice was not agreeable to his 
views; that he did do it out of necessity to make sem- 

152 



blance at home of doing something, and have the ap- 
pearance witli the niultitnde in the state to be an 
cllicieut meinlx'i' in llie Senate, being at the same time 
very contident llial hi.s friend, Mr. Sci»tt, would hang 
the bill in the House of Kepresentative*?. Mr. Seott hail 
a similar bill rei)orted in the House of Representatives 
contuining also the principle of reference to a court of 
law, N\ Inch lie look cai-e ne\'ei- to call up. He was 
governed b\ the same UKtlives as Mr. B,, whose i'du) he 
is. All these were false attacks, mere ru^ses de guerre, 
but their r«'al aim, their true attack, is the last bill, 
which avoids the judiciary and refers the subject to 
the recorder alone without even an agent to cross- 
examine the witness that may be brought forward by 
the claimants. Thus you must .see that the interest of 
the many is at variance with that of the few, and that 
Mr. Houton ath'uds only to interest of the latter. If 
.Mr. II. would sejtarate the small claims from the large 
ones, and rejioii a hill for the lirst only, Cimgress might 
be disjtoised to exerci^se more freely its liberality 
towards it, but, sir, this is contrary to his policy. He 
has no share in those small claims and he makes use of 
tiieni as a cork to keep afloat the large ones. It ap- 
pearing evidently that M<\ssrs. Scott and Benton could 
not avoid a reference of the land claims to the ju- 
diciary in the bills which they respectively reported at 
the session before the last. That this reference was the 
govorniug ojunion in both houses; t'.iat it was the <mly 
means to bring those < laims to a tinal decision; that the 
menioiial (d" the legislature was in atliiiuance of that 
measure as it prayed f(U' a prom|)t decision. We can- 
not resist the con(lu«lon that the bill for ref<'rring the 
subject 1(» the recorder for hif; o]>inion has passed 
thritugh the Senate by inadvertence or surprise and con- 



153 



trary to the wishes of the legislature of Missouri. Let 
me add that a great majority of the memberfc> of the 
legislature of Missouri are poor pensous who hold their 
lamls by iirc-emption. They of course, have feeliugs 
and interests quite at variance with those of Mr. B. 
Among other things they will not thank him particu- 
\ar\y for that clause of tlie bill. Second, what claims in 
his opinion (the recorder) are now entitled to the indul- 
gent considmation of the government of tlie U. S. Sir, 
I can asvsure you that there are many actual settlers 
on those large claims of land who did not know of the 
existence of those claims, much less of their extent, 
when they first made their settlements. They have 
fought and bled during the last war in defense of their 
homes and of the frontier of the state. They have 
gone through all the hardships and difficulties of open- 
ing farms in wilderness. Some of them have made 
very valuable improvements. They mostly have large 
famili(\s of children. Now, sir, if the land they are 
settled upon prove to be public laud, they are entitled 
to a right of pre-emption and they are safe. If not 
their situation becomes desperate. Congress cannot be 
indulgent towards the Spanish land claimants, without 
being unjust, nay, cruel with respect to the actual 
settlers. Take also into consideration that the Spanish 
land claimants are to be indulgently dealt with for 
thousands of acres of land, for which they never have 
nor will pay a farthing in money or labor, whilst the 
actual settler claim of right one quarter section or two 
at the usual price fixed by law. 

The bill is also very deficient in as much as the refer- 
ence is made to the recorder alone. This is confiding 
too much in one man. Not less than two commissioners 
ought to be added. Congress has given away more 



154 



than 500,000 acres of land by confirming the opinions 
of the recorder of land titles for Missouri reporte<l in 
pursuance of the act of the 14 of April, 1S14. I think 
that congrtsss has nior<' than once pui-sucd a ruinous 
economy. 

Vou know better than me that the })lurality of offi- 
cers i« congenial with republican jealousy and watch- 
fulness; that is is more easy to deceive, bias or brib(^ 
<mc man than three, and tiiat an agent may be of great 
use to cross-examine wilncvsses to meet the arguments 
of the land (laimants; to inforui and check the com- 
uiisvsioners. 

I ho]ie you will do me the justice not to suspect that 
I isuggest the creation of offices that 1 ma}' have an op- 
portunity^ to fill one of theui. 1 was appointed last 
July one of the <'ommissioneis to examine the titles 
and claims to land in west Florida, and 1 declined it, 
and even now my opinion is clearly for refeiTing the 
claims to the judiciary. Besides these I beg leave to 
refer you to Alessiis. Edward and Cook from Illinois. 
They both reside Avithin 20 miles from St. Louis. 1 
hope they will be able to state to you that I have denied 
myself to use the fairest opportunity of becoming rich, 
and that I have made a sacrifice of my rest, peace and 
popularity in (trder to atten<l to the best interest of the 
U. S. I should not have entered into these long and 
])erhapf< tedious details, had I not been persuaded that 
you are devoted to the service of your country from 
higher motives than ostentation and vanity. I am, 
With great respect, &c., 



X,. r , Jauy. 1st, 1820. 

^^ m. Lowndes, "^ 

Sir:— In my letter to you of the 22nd of Nov., 1818, 

I informed you that James Mackay having in pursuance 



155 



of his petition prc^sented to Congress at tbe session be- 
fore the last, succeeded, &c., to have a law passed in 
his favor, &c. He is now petitioning again for another 
claim also unrecorded, &C, This second petition shows 
more forcibly tlian ever the danger that exiists in de- 
parting from general principles and legislating for piu- 
ticular cases made up with ex parte testimony, for it is 
ex parte testimony every where whether in th<^ i)e- 
tition or in the report of the recorder, and that unless 
Congress shuts up every avenue to such inroads, there 
will remain no point where it will be able to stop at. 
Various other arguim^utK to show that those claims 
have neither equity nor law, — that the commandant 
wlio issued the last concession had no power and is still 
at hand, and it has been and is actually in his power to 
issue more concessions of the same kind, to-wit, un- 
registered concessions. 

It is not my intention to suggest that he would do 
such things, but only that lie could, and I leave you to 
conjecture from the past what he might be capable of. 
There is between him and Mr. Mackay a great appear- 
ance of friendship and contidential intercourse. I shall 
make no further remarks referring you to my letter of 
the 22/d Nov., 1818 on the same subject. 

Having been lately very sick and being yet much ex- 
hausted I have been under the necessity to have this 
letter written by one of m^- sons. 

Yours respectfully, 

J. *B. C. L. 



January 21st, 1820. 
Wm. Lowndes, 

Sir: — I have seen by the last newspapers that John 
Scott delegate of the territory of Missouri has presented 
the petition of C. B. Penrose for a full compensation for 



156 



his services as former land commissioner. I had pe- 
titioned with Mr. Penrose last year for the same pur- 
|)(»s('. A 1)111 was rei)(»rted favorably and aurced in 
coiiiniittcc of tlu' wliolc. The report of llic coiiiinittee 
of the whole wjks opjxised in the house ;ni<l the hill wm 
«ienerally postponed by a small majority. 

Bein.ii disj»nsted with tluM refusal, aiul believiuj» the 
most active oi»])oneiils to the bill were the most active 
frieuds of ( h(^ claimauts ;ni<l did jtartiike with their 
spleen and hatred towards uie. I declined to join in the 
petition of Mr. Penrose thi« year. 

There is no doubt with me but that Mr. Scott and 
others will use their nn»st earnest endeavors to obtain 
for ;Mr. Penrose the prayer of this jietiliou as 1 stand no 
more in their wa}' and am not to be beuetited by their 
executions. 

Altho I can reconcile Avith the refnt<al, however 
unjust, which T met with last year, I could not ludp con- 
sidering the uiantinjj^ Mr. Peurose full couijM'USMtion 
without extendinji the same })vovision to uiv as a nu)st 
direct insult. For an instance of the relative merits 
of Mr. Penrose and myself as commissioners. I beo- leave 
to refer you a.nain to Dubenpie's claim in the S4th. S.'ith 
and 86th paj>es of the ai)peudix to the Land Laws, and 
to tlie Secy, of the Treasury aud tlu' couimissiouer of 
the jieneral land othce. 

If you IxM'oine satisfied ;liiU I ;iui as <leservini: as Mr. 
Peuiose, 1 hope of youi' jusiicc that you will move the 
insert ion of my name in the bill if any is reported in 
favor (d' Mr. Penrose, and that my ri<::ht and honor shall 
not be sacriliced to the resentment of the land claimants 
and their aj^ents. 

I direct you a number of the Missouri (Jazette con- 
taining a copy of one of Mr. Scott's electioneering hand 



ir. 



bills, wherein to gain the better the confidence of the 
land claimants, he declares that he poissesses several 
claims which are unconfirmed. 

JNO. B. C. LUCAS. 



December 1st, 1820. 
Wm. Lowndes, 

(The same purport as letter to John Quincy Adams, 
dated December 1st, 1820.) 



St. Louis, November 26, 1821. 
Wm. Lowndes, 

(Letter to, intimatinii that land claimants having suc- 
ceeded in having their friends and partners elected to 
senate and house of representatives, it may be expected 
that greater efforts than ever will be made this year to 
obtain the passage of law in favor of their claims, prob- 
ably towardvs the end of the session when the house will 
be thin and members exhausted. 

Report has circulated during laist session of Congress 
that I had written to several members from the non 
slave holding states to encourage to refuse their absent 
to the admission of the state of Missouri into the union; 
that the restrict ionists were gaining ground in the state 
and probably a clause iuliibiting slavery would at bust 
be introduccMl into the constitution. 

I declare that I did not write at Washing-ton nor 
elsewhere anything against or for the Miscsouri (]ues- 
tions at any of their stages before Congresis. 

I believe that such a report Ikim originated with some 
of the agents or friends of the Spanish land claimants 
in order to disturb or interrupt the confidence and good 
understanding that may exist between divers membei-K 

158 



from the soiitli ;iih1 myself, as they v^iispei t tliat T eor- 
n'si)i»n<l wifli them on tlie snhjeet of tlie land claims. 

Altlionjili I don't wisli to liave il known that I have 
(•ommnnieat<'d to divers mcmhei's my opinion on those 
clainiis, I should not, however, decline t(t ajtpear at the 
bar of either honse of Coniiress and state at larjiic the 
reasons of my opinion aj^ainst those claims and vindi- 
cate that opinion if necessary. 

Respectfully yours, 
J. B. C. L. 

St. Louis, February l«t, 1822. 
Wm. LowndeSj 

Sir: — A resolution having lately been broup^ht before 
the House by Mr. Scott from Mifjsouri for the ])nrpose of 
having the French and Spanish claims to land in the 
state of Misseuri referred to a tribunal, permit, &c., 
the same as in letter to Walter Lowrie, Jany. 25th, until 
"hereafter its liberality with discrimination'' — if it ex- 
ercises it at al! and under i pro]ter responsibility to the 
people of the Tnited States, w hich hat^ been heretofore 
evaded by civiiiii away laruc tracts of land under the 
cover of confirmation of e<iuitable rij:»hts. Cousidf'rinjz;. 
however, that th<' ancient inhabitants of the ])rovince of 
Louisiana have come under the ])i()tection of the United 
States bv purchase and not by theii- own act, consider- 
ing; alMo that they used to recei\c from their former 
sitvereijiTis moderate «;rants of land upon,' easy con- 
ililions and almost uratutiously ; tlu' nn>st riMUote e(]uity 
or justice which any (d" theii- claims may possess oun'ht 
to be attended to with parental tenderness. The I'nited 
States are bound by every tie not to leave them any rea- 
sonable cause t(» re«;ret their former sovereigns, and the 
change of their former condition. 1 am, 

Respectfully, «&c., 

15!> 



December 21, 1821. 
Walter Lowrie, 

Sir: — I have delayed much longer than I first intended 
in presenting to your view the many defects of the 
Spanish claims to land in the state of Missouri, which 
remain unconfirmed. 

Permit me now to observe you. that by the 4th sec- 
tion of an act of Congress of the 3d of March, 1807, the 
board of coiiiiiiisNioners for adjusting the claims to land, 
^i., of \\ liicli I \v;is (tne, was iiutliorized to confirm all 
claims to laud not exceedinu llic (lunntity contained in 
a leagtie sfpmrc, ac( ordiug to the laws and usages of 
the r«^spectiv(' govcinuicnts, Fr(>uch or Spanish, under 
which they ha<l originattMl. That the c(uuniissioners 
ascertained that no Spanish law and usage allowed the 
granting of more than a league square to each individ- 
ual, and therefore were competent to do full justice to 
the claimants, which I am perfectly satisfied t']](:'y did. 
They have made a rejiort to the Secretary of the Treas- 
ury of all the claims which the3' did not confirm, to 
gether with all the written and oral evidence in su\) 
port of the same, likewise their o])iuion. to-wit: that 
it ought not to be confiruunl. This report was made in 
the beginning of the year, 1S12. The land clainiant,s, 
after varions attempts, succeeded in obtaining the 
passage of an act on the 12th of April, 1814, which 
recognized the concessions of warrants of survey, issued 
by the French or Spanish governuu'uts at any time be- 
fore the liHh day of March, ISOf, without auy regard 
to the non-compliance with the condition precedent, 
to-wit: cultivation during three years, provided the 
land thus conceded and claimed had been duly sur- 
veyed or specially located, and each claim did not ex- 
ceed the quantity contained in a league square, by 



IHO 



which means, the principle contained in the treaty of 
rh<^ :iOth of April, 1803, between fhe French Kepublic 
and the V. S., to-wit: that thi^ Ficiicli liepnblic ce«led 
to the U. S. foicvcr and in fnll sov(*reij;nty, the said ter- 
ritory (Louiisiana) with all its ri.iihts and appnrtenances, 
as fnlly and in the same manner as they have been 
a((inired by llic I'icnch Kepublic. In virtue of the 
above mentioniMl treaty, to-wit: the treaty of St. llde- 
fonso <tf tlie 1st of October, 1800, is given up. 

This (lej)ar<ur(' or aberration from a fundemental 
principle, will, no doubt, be urged as a precedent which 
ought to be extended to all claims remaining uncon- 
tirnied. 

Mr. Scott, in the house of representatives ivs a laud 
claimant himself, — of course will have a double motive 
not t(» be idle on thit> subject. Messrs. Barton and 
Benton \\ill not be less active in the Senate. Benton, 
specially, will be strenuous and indefatigable. 

Notwithstanding the great efforts and interest which 
the land claimants have made to procure his ^lection, 
nevertheless he gained it by the majority of one only. 
He has been heretofore the counsel and agent of the 
land claimants. 1 am credibly informed that his-; fees 
are contingent to the confirmation of the S])anish land 
claims; moreover, his pecuniary circumstances are des- 
perate. He is one of those directors of the Bank of 
.Miss(turi. who, without c<'r<MUony, divided among them- 
selves the capital of that bank, and then stopped pay- 
ment, having embezzled the depocsits of many individ- 
uals and particularly of the U. S. to the amount of more 
than .i>ir)0,000 He is (he one. who since the failure of 
that bank lias bought Missouri Bank Notes at 50 per 
cent of discount, and thus unblushiugly profits by pub- 
lic distress and calamity. He is the very man who has 



101 



swindled Charles Lucas one of mx sons, out of his life. 
It will be found on enquiry, that in North Carolina, 
where he is born, in Tennessee where he did reside for a 
long- time, all is of a piece with his directorship and 
other incidents of his life in Missouri. 

When the question of authorizing;- the people of the 
territory of Missouri to form themselves into a state 
was agitated in Congress, he sat no bounds to his abuse 
and revilings against the members who were in favor 
of a clause restricting or inhibiting slavery. He filled 
AA'ith the names of the leading members from the north 
a list of proscription, which he published in the St. 
Louis Enquirer. I have on file the number that con- 
tains it. He was then the proprietor and editor of that 
paper. 

Being fully persuaded that the Spanish land claim- 
ants have no kind of right in law or equity, and that 
all their hopes of success lies in their unremitting in- 
trigue in the extension of their interest by making 
transfers of part of their large claims to influential per- 
sons, perhaps to some members of Congress, and lastly 
in their watchfulness to seize the opportunity of a thin 
house towards the end of the session, to obtain their 
end. 

I beg leave to suggest that the safe and constitutional 
way to put their claims at an end is to provide by law 
that they shall present their claims within a given time 
before a judicial tribunal for a trial. This is the only 
place where plausible tales, pitiful stories and ex parte 
evidence will not find admission and will be of no avail. 

Let me add that many of those claims are antidated, 
but as they were not duly registered and were de- 
ficient under other respects, the commissioners thought 
it unnecessary to go to the trouble to enquire particu- 



162 



larly iuto the fraud, and have proof thereof adduced. 
It iiiny be ]>i'(»per to observe that there is au essential 
(lilTcreiicc between (hevstate of the hmd ehiims in lo\v«'i- 
and n])|>ei* Louisiana, now ^lissouri, and the reason of 
it is (luitr obvious; in ;is much as the inhabitants of 
lower Louisiana wci'c ncneiallv i»lanters and a.nrieul- 
turisls, whilst I lie chief pursuit of the ancient inhabi- 
tant's of ui»|)ei' Louisiana, now Missouri, was boating, 
huntinn, trapping and trading with the Indians. These 
laist sat little or no value upon land except when they 
hear<l that the country was ceded to the V. S., and 
therefore, when it was too late, they applied for large 
quantities of land for the purpose of speculation and 
then they missed their object entirely for the conces- 
sions under which they claim were issued by the com- 
mandant or lieutenant governor at St. Louis, whilst by 
a royal ordinance isisued at St. Lorenzo on the 22d of 
Octobei', 179S, llie i)ower of granting or distributing 
the roval (huiiains was exclusively lodged in the in- 
tendant whose place of residence was at New Orleans. 

The uncontirnied claims ought not to be contirmed 
Isl because the concessions are not duly registered and 
of course not authenticated. 2d, in most all cases the 
concessions have not been issued by the proper otticer. 
8d. because the concessions call for a gn'ater quantity 
of land than is allowed by Spanish laws and usages. 
l(h, because the condition precedent, such as cultivation, 
&c., have not been complied with. 5th, because in 
almost all cases the right of domain was no more in th^ 
crown of Spain at the time its otticei's issued the con- 
cessions or orders of survey. 

Was I at Washington when these claims will be un<h'r 
the consideration of congreciis, 1 should, if called upon, 
appear with pleasure at the bar of either house to en- 



1()3 



large upon the reasons here before suggested. I should 
be now the most wealthy and popular man of the ^state 
of Missouri if I had been willing to betray the interests 
of the U. S. as land commissioner. I should have at 
present a seat in the Senate of the U. S., but official 
purity has not become as yet a recommendation in 
Missouri. I am, &c., 

Kespectfully, &c., 



St. Louis, December 27th, 1821. 
Walter Lowrie, 

Sir: — I have lately discovered that it was reported at 
Washington during the last session of Congress, that I 
had written to several members from the non slave hold- 
ing states to encourage them to refuse their assent to 
the admission of Missouri into the union; that this re- 
port has been credited by several members from the 
south. 

I declare this report is false, &.C., and hari been cir- 
cuhited by Benton or other partners to interrupt good 
understanding with the members of the south and in- 
duce the President to believe that I am malevolent and 
hostile to the people of Missouri. 

I wish you to enquire of Messrs. Merrian Edwards & 
Daniel P. Cook, who live small distance from St. Louis 
and are strangers to local jealousies, what is my stand- 
ing in Missouri. If from their report you are satisfied 
I liave pursued a correct course, consistent with my 
public life in Pennsylvania, please to impart your im- 
pressions to the President. Whether the President will 
appoint me or not to the office of Judge of the District 
ConrI is not important, but it is of moment that the 
S])n nish land claimants should not have their favorite 



appointes. Probably Mr. (hey will be proposed by 
Benton & Barton. He is the same Captain Grey who 
was so intemperate and addicted to drunkenness whilst 
he was in the army, that he had received a hint to resign 
in order to avoid disgrace. 



St. Louis, Jany. 25, 1822. 
Walter Lowrie, 

Sir: — Seeing that you are a member of the committee 
of the Senate on public lands; seeing also that a resolu- 
tion has been brought in the house of representatives 
for the purpose of having the French and Spanish 
claims to land in the state of Missouri referred to a tri- 
bunal, permit me to suggest you something more on 
that subject. It must, I hope, be satisfactory- to you 
that the commissioners who acted upon those claims 
and made a report thereof ought to be of some service 
and utility to the Congress. It ought not to go for 
less than to inform the consciences of the members of 
Congress and. induce them to put in litigation their 
claims within a given time or else all that labor must 
go for nothing. ^Ir. Scott in his resolution having used 
the word tribunal, may probably in the <letails of the 
bill qualify that tribunal so that it may at last be not h- 
ing else but a reference to one or more commissioners, 
which would be doing the same thing over again, and 
in that case there might be a possible chance on the 
part of the land elaimants to gain some undue advan- 
tage as the proceedings would be ex parte. New en- 
couragement would thereby be given to fraud and per- 
jury. Unless these commissioners confirmed the claims 
In toto, there would be no end to new applications to 
Congress for confirming the rejected claims. The act 

1G5 



of the 12tli of April, 1814, entitled "An Act for the 
Final Adjustment of Land Claims, &i'.,'' presents in its 
operation a stronj; instance of it. There was nothing 
final in that act but the sound of the title. The whole 
tenor of it amounted to a dangerous surrender of im- 
portant rights on the part of the U. S. being surrep- 
titious in its effects it operated as an entering wedge 
in favor of the land claimants. After having obtained 
under that act the confirmation of claims which had 
not even the merit of legal incipiency. The claimants 
have become more clamorous than ever about the 
claims that were not confirmed. Nothing short of a 
total surrender of all the lands they claim will satisfy 
them, and indeed their rights being secured by treaty, 
and the United States being in the present case a party, 
none but a judicial tribunal can finally and constitu- 
tionally decide between them and the United States. 
Therefore the tribunal to which these claims may be 
referred ought to be a judicial one such as any of the 
Courtis of the United States. At the same time I think 
it would be proper that the judges should be directed 
to mention in their adjudications when made against 
the claimant, whether the claim in their opinion had a 
legal incipiency or was null ab initio, whether they en- 
tertained doubts about the sufficiency of the claim; in 
order to enable Congress to exercise hereafter its liber- 
ality with discrimination, for as these land claimants 
have come under the protection of the U. S. by pur- 
chase, and not by their own act, as thej used to receive 
from their former sovereigns grants of land upon easy 
conditions and almost gratuitously the most remote 
equity or justice which any of their claims may possess 
ought to be attended to with parental tenderness. The 
U. S. are bound by every tie not to leave them any occa- 



166 



Kxou 1(1 i'('<;i-et their former so vereigiu^, and tlie change 

of their eonditioD. 

Respectfully yours, &c., 

J. B. C. L. 



Jany. 22, 1822. 
Will. Lucas, 

Dear Will.: — Your letter of the 4tb of January was 
received yesterday. I reciprocate you my best wishes 
at the bejiiuuiuo; of this year, and particularly that you 
may be Nuccnssful in your change of situation and your 
new pursuits, but let me remember you that these 
wishes will be of very little avail if you don't helj) y(Uir- 
self to the utmost of your power. You cannot dissembh 
to yourself that you have lost already a precious part 
of your time. One loss may be repaired, two would be 
ruinout<. It is with regret that I advert to the past. I 
do it from the best motives. Your good sense and the 
energy which with health and youth you certainly must 
possess, afford me pleasing and ^strong hopes that you 
will go through life with comfort and honor. As to 
fortune the pursuit of so tickle deity gives much more 
trouble and uneasiness than its possession is worth. 
Beside this, fortune' is a mere matter of accident, other- 
wise its a])pellation would be wrong. 1 am happy to 
hear that my standing is good in the part of the country 
you live, not only f«»r myself, but for you also. Long 
cilice, I thonglit that my enemies in St. Louis were an 
injury to you and that you would be better off any 
where (^Ise. 1 was absent when Mr. Bead went off, 1 
intended to send yon by liiin the deed of Clemson to 
have it recor(le(l. I expected to overtake at St. Charles, 
a Mr. Barton wIkmii 1 had met a <lay or two b< fore on 
the road near N'ailliant and had delivered mc a few 
lines from you to Adrian, but 1 was disappointed. 1 

167 



handed your watch and a letter from Adrian to Colonel 
Allen the representative of your county. I have re- 
ceived lately a louix and artful letter from James. He 
speaks highly of you. He say.s he loves you as him- 
self. Saml. Perry called tins day a week at my house 
as he was going- home from the legislature. He told 
me that Geyer had declared hinuself candidate for 
Congress. Judge Stewart had offered himself before. 
I am informed the latter is preparing to go through the 
state and show himself. He is now at St. Louis. He 
is a laughing stock there. The French speak of him 
with great contempt. I don't think he will have any 
support from them. As to (leyer, from every enquiry 
I have made from the members of the legislature and 
others I am induced to believe that he stands no kind 
of chance. He is considered to be almost in a .state 
of insolvency. 1 was informed that his library is exe- 
cuted. Judge Pettibone told me the first time I went to 
St. Charles since your departure that he heard several 
express an appreheuvsion that I shoidd be a candidate 
I should carry the election unless the opposite interest 
was consolidated on one candidate. He told me last 
time I was there that such opinion prevails among my 
friends and foes. Antoine Janis also told me last time, 
that I was fast gaining ground among the Americans, 
and that the French would certainly be for me. He 
tokl me likewise that Pettibone is my friend. That 
he knows he speaks much in my favor. Saml. K, Cald 
well, senator from Peck, says that I stand better than 
any other in his count}- as politician and as a judge. 
The French are loud in my favor. Labaddie and few 
others think that I should render the most services in 
the state legislature. They seem to wish to diminish 
the effect of the reaction as much as thev can. 



168 



Mr. Stokos told mo that T was ablo to ronder p;reat 
services in Coimrcss, but that the state stood in iiieater 
want from me in tlie state le^ishiture. Lawyer Cozens 
told me a few days ])ast, that if I was not opposed to 
the hind claims in (olo I conld be elected t(» ('onnres;s, 
bnl as to the state le^islalnre none conld onl poll me. 
•Mr. Strother ov<'rtook me a day or two a^o in the street 
.nid t<dd me that if Scott was not candidate, he would 
<;ive me his snp])ort, but at all events he would not 
op]»os(' me. That my i)0])nlarity was inrreasin<i, fast. 
That he doubted Scott would hazard to be a candidate 
a«ainst me; thai pro\ided 1 exjxtscd in the newspapers 
the defects of tlie constitution, their i^cneral tendency, 
an<l commented on the votes of ^Ir. Scott in the con- 
vention, he was persuaded that I should succeed in the 
election. Le Vieux Cadet is now (|uite polite to me; 
bi'iui; in the Senate Chamber he invited me to the fire 
and br«>ui;ht me a chair, he t(dd the fate of his case 
with Mde. Chevalier before Jud<»e Pettibone, and the de- 
sertion of Benton has opened his eyes. \\'arner tells me 
that he declared on the other day in pi-escnc*' of Ciamble 
and Lawyer Peck, that if 1 was candidate for Con<;ress, I 
should have his support in preference to any. They 
both orave me an apparent approbation. Mr. Strother 
wishes me to ride this s])rin|Li the circuit with him, he 
says that it is absolutely nec(^ssary that the people 
should sec me. Strother told uie that he expected the 
French would vote for me; as he supi»os(Ml I would 
sn]>port such of their claims as are equitable. Posse- 
mn is very warm in my favor, lie says that I shall 
have a very ureat support from the French and 
Americniis in St. Louis; that the merchants and grocers 
will iicuerally be for me. Mr. Strother told me that he 
heard Dr. Strother say that if Scott is not candidate, he 



169 



will give me his support. Jeremiah Connor was then 
present. La Croze says that he is satisfied from all he 
hears and overhears, there is a .great change in the 
public opinion in my favor, Didie says that he is 
sure the Aiigt. Chouteau will support me, and that as 
for himself h<^ will, contrary to his fcunner resolution, 
be ats active as possible for me. Nothwithistanding all 
these I continue to declare that 1 am not a candidate. 
Cook, of Madisson is an<»ther candidate for Congress. 
I desiie you to appear prettj- indifferent about the 
candidates. This is the way to render you acceptable 
to all persons, and there is a clear benefit in such a 
course both for the purpose of society and practice in 
your profession. Be forbearing and indulgent to 
others; use severity only towards yourself. You may 
derive now a great advantage from your experience by 
applying it to your present situation, which may be 
termed a new moral existence if through some confiden- 
tial friends oi- other indirect means you could know 
or learn something of my standing and that of Scott in 
Boon county or Moutgomei*y. I hope you will inform 
me of it as soon as possible. If 3'ou were asked if 1 
ishall be a candidate for congress, say that it may or may 
not be, but you know not. The piece which I forwarded 
to the eidtors of the National Intelligencer has been 
published in their paper of the 11th of December. I 
have some intention to take a ride through the state 
early in the spring. 1 have rented the stone house 
to Lawyer Cozens for 10 dollars per nnmth. The books 
will be put at auction in a week from these. Adrian ex- 
pects to be able to send you in about two weeks those 
that he will buy for you. 

Money is more scarce than ever. One dollar in specie 
commands two in loan office paper. The Illinois bank 



170 



Dotes are not so depreciated. DIevores tells nie that I 
stand fair in St. (Muirles County, and have a good rhanee 
to hav«' a majority in niy favor for Congress. 

Mr. Barton has written nn^ a v<M'y inii)ertinent letter 
the same tlay that Adrian iccciNcd the law l)oid<.s fiom 
him at his olhcc. 1 havo made him an answer which in 
substance and form ought to cur*' him of his turn for 
injustice and impudence. 1 regici very much the cir- 
cumstance, but I could not get over so much insolence. 

Adieu, 

J. B. C. L. 

In my next I shall endeavor to answer your question 
on the communante' under the contume de paris. 



St. Louis, Jany. 31, 1822. 
Wm. Lucas, 

Dear Son: — Agreeably to the promise I gave you in 
my lett<'r, I am going to transcribe here some of the 
leading principles goveijnng the rights of husband and 
wife l*ar la contume de paris. Ait. 220 — and comments, 
225—237. 

I have made here a selection of leading principles. 
If they are not sutticient state particularly any point 
and 1 shall endeavor to give you further information 
from the law or its analogy. 

.Mr. (Jeyer is considered to be broke and insolvent. 
From all I can hear the public ojiiniou seems to be tixed 
again supjiorting insolvent men any nn)re for officcvs. 
M(<'allister from St. Ferdinand in my favor for cong. 
1 shall run well in JetTerson County so say.s Col. Ham- 
mond. 

Farrar says that he is not going any more to raise 
false friends over his head. He don't know but I am 

171 



his enemy, but lie knows I never shall use dishonorable 
means. He prefers such men to false friends. O'Fallon 
says that he re<j;Tets that a clause for the «»Ta(lual abo- 
lition of slavery was not inserted in the constitution. 
Had no particular objection to me for Congress. Could 
not isay that he would vote for me but felt no dispo- 
sition to oppose. 

A person of weight and influence said that as a 
politician I wa8 acceptable to him, but when he was 
pressed to declare in my favor, he said that my con- 
duct towards Mr. Hunt's family operated in his mind 
as a great draw back. It was then observed to him 
that Mr. Hunt's comi)laints ought to have no weight, 
to which he reported, but if it is Mrs. Hunt, and stopped 
short. Mr. Soulard luus told me since that it was gen- 
erally reported in 8t. Louis, that I had urged Mrs. Hunt, 
after her husband had become poor, to leave him and 
come with her children to stay at my house. Such in 
fernal calumnies, if really thej proceed from my 
daughter, receive a new force and when handled by 
my enemies must tear and damn my character, if it is 

not adamantine. 

Yours, &c., 

J. B. C. L. 



St. Louis, June 5, 1822. 
Wm. Lucas, 

(Letter in answer to letter of 25 May, requiring with- 
out delay account of popularity in Callaway and Gas- 
conade. Informing him of my journey to the south. 
Majorities in my favor except, &c. Some account of Mr. 
Stewart's depression seeing that I stood fair at St. 
Louis, his boastings that his election is sure if I am not 
candidate.) 

172 



May 20th, 1823. 
(Siibstanoo of letter.) 
Will. I.ucas, 

( "ojircssidiis of Sfi'ollu'i' oil polilicMl siihjocts; i*('sii>ns 
ollice of receiver, next fall iioe.s to W'asliiiintoii. invites 
nic <o iio als«» lo assist Iiiin in iiavinji lainLs contiiniod, 
nicaiiinii I lie fair claims; says that he and I conhl ac- 
complish that object; says thai licnlon was federalist 
in Tennesse<', Scott has no weiiihl. neither of tln'm can 
])rocnre the contirmalion of the laml clainit^. lie de- 
clared before that he will be candidate for Conjjjress. 
He commits himself daily, lose j;round, was fined flO by 
conrt for contempt. Is openly for Crawford. Says the 
Missonrian is fedeial ])aper antl viinved as .snch up 
Missouri. The Kartonis, Bates, «S:c., decidedly for 
Adams. Tol. Cook wishes to dissemble but is for 
Adams. 1 have spoken well of Adams and said that 1 
could not reconcile to support him perhajis from no 
other reason than party pride, as he was once federal- 
ist. Said that I would not tak(^ active part in jiresi- 
deutial election. 1 saw Thomas Senator decidedly for 
Crawford. Says that tlie old staunch republicans stand 
for him; says also that 1 am relied on at Washinjjton 
as iindeviatinii re|>ubiicaii. (Jallatin exi»ected fr<»in 
Fi'aiK-e next fall. His family remains in I'^'raiice, The 
object of his joiiriiey uiitlerstood to be to use intliienc<' 
in rallyiuii republicans in favor of republican can<lidaie. 
His etliciency much deixMids upon. I.owrie, senator 
IKmi Pennsylvania told him liiat 1 had a hiiili standiui; 
ill the (listricl where he li\'es. Thomas wishes me to 
^l»eiid next winter in Washiiiiitoii and I'ennsyh aiiia, 
that 1 iiiiiiht be very useful. Dulf (Jreen called at my 
house with Strother not lonj; since. He stated, what 1 
had heard, that he was nominated to the Senate for 



173 



register of land office of Missouri. Was rejected by 
►Senate. Was nominated again. Senate adjourned be- 
fore acting on wecond nomination. Edward advised liim 
to ask my interest in the Senate. That I stood very 
well with several senators. I answered him that there 
existed no friendvship nor enmity between him and me, 
that I conld not solicit but was willing to make a fair 
statement of facts. He appeared to be satisfied. 

No plowing done 3'et. Land too wet. Adrian mo.st 
always abroad. Ludicrous pasture well stocked with 
horses. Mrw, Le Due dead, «&c. 

J. B. C. L. 



June 6th, 1823. 
Wm, Lucas, 

The resignation of Pettibone regretted by me and 
others. Make the best you can of Tucker, If you be- 
come his favorite, never praise him. Circuit Court sit- 
ting. Geyer seems to court Stewart. Scott is here. 
Understood' by many tliat ho will be candidate for 
Senate. We had yesterday a full sight of each other. 

Strother gave yesterday night an entertainment to 
LSeveral g(Mitlemen of Ste. (lenevieve. They well under- 
stand his objoct. Tills canvassing earlier than usual, 
calculated to ontra]). Elector ought to retain as long 
as possible his discretion untrammelled. Other per- 
sons more modest and ais deserving may be proposed at 
a later time. 

I saw McNear and Scott speaking long time together 
yesterday, perliai)s advisable to suggest that so early 
canvassing is improper. Barton not returned. Bates 
married. Kector is returned. A dinner by subscrip- 
tion is given to him to-day. I refused to subscribe. 
Bishop Dubourg returned. Gone again. Com])lained 

171 



from pul])it jiuainst Uw Fn ncli. Enloj^ize the Irish 
Catholics. -IcMiits arrived. (Joiiii; to be established on 
Hkshop's farm near Flenristsante. KentiMl uiy house to 
\*\\7A'V. Mississippi vny lii^li. Aj>proaohini»' dissolu- 
lioii of yiv. Read alTccis iiic niodnatcly. I am familiar 
with such events. Look with indifference on my turn. 
Sole ai»prel!ension is to outlive. Keasonable strength 
of mind and body. Farrar carnal J)r. Mason. Fined 
130. 



December 5th, 1824. 
(Substance.) 
Wm. Lucas, 

Keceived two letters from you, one Nov. 4th, the other 
Nov. ITth. Success in your ])rofessi(ui make me very 
happy. Adrian incurable. Lleard of many of his in- 
discretions at St. Louis since departure. Your house 
vacant. By Gamble's appointment, liates will take it 
under (Jamble. 

Xotwithstandino- Barton's e_iire»>ious falt.s, challenge, 
&.('., succeeded not by his merit, by odium of adversar- 
ies. !McNear went ott" with dis«;race. lie neutralized 
his efforts by ottering for Senate. He denied it. Grant 
assured Bates he had. Scott, Benton, Victor and all 
posse share in defeat. Members of Legislature had con- 
sulted toiicther. They were going to re(|uest Benton to 
go to his post. Benton got the win<I, saved distance. 

A great many from St. Loui.*^ attended first week of 
session. 1 did not go. My whole attention was taken 
ui> with Soulard's case. 1 was both nursing and i)re- 
pariug niyseir. 1 addressed couri on Monday, 22d — 
morning, afternoon, continueil next day until 1 o'clock 
— objections of Lawless, — my answer — Judge and Dis- 
trict Attorney exi)ressed wishes. Went on I think 
pretty well morning, — not so well afternoon. EX- 
ITS 



hausted next dav in body and mind. Probably you 
have Iieard by this time something of it. Was often 
interrupted by Lawless. The latter followed me. He 
was perfectly at loss notwithstandin«»- his great labour. 
Read from liistory of Louivsiana by Stoddart. ]My re- 
marks upon Stoddart's two reports. Strother and Law- 
less comment, ^v. Keflections. I explained. Lawless 
said it was worse told. Ketract, refusal, interference 
of Penrose. 

Bates concluded. Offered to me previously to con- 
clude. He was particularly polite. He did pretty well. 

Testimony Lassus. Principal partially interpreted. 
Bates rather c^asy. Is much courtiMl by L. C. T was 
present all time. I was a check. I hope to be efficient 
in ray ease. The means are turning. I wish that the 

motto may suit me as well as you, though I am 

much less elastic. I hope also to take part in argu- 
ments of 1st case after te^timcmy will be closed. 

Wm. Christy and others, my warm partisans talk in 
Barber's shop favorable to me. ^ome surprised at my 
law knowledge. Agreed any way tliat I was full nuitoh. 
T. Hunt has removed to St. Louis immediately after 
appointment, new recorder of service to obtain docu- 
ments. I liad thi'ee imjxutant dUes. I sliall look for 
more. 

I am on poi)ular sides of (question, ^^trother seems to 
feel X. I too uiak<' question still more ])o]>ular by 
showing in next speech its bearing on interest of settlers 
on Sapnish L. Claims. 

Yours, &c, 



St. Louis, Jan. 26. 
Wm. Lucas, 

Dear Wm.: — 1 lioi)e you liave not. or at least will not 
fail to go to Spanish Needle Prairie settlemt^nt and 

176 



make yourself acquainted, as far as possible, with the 
(luaiitity an<l <|iiality of hiiul that have been rcliu- 
(luislied, how much lies couti<;u(Uis and perhaps you 
uiay ol)t;iiu some iiifonuatiou beside that which you 
have received from Mr. .Moore. Vv. Stepheu (Jhiss- 
ock, Ch'rk of the court of Kail Couuty, has caUed at 
uiy house hitely. I have requested him to make also 
enquiry on the same subject in his part of the country. 
He has ;niveu me some hope tliat he wouhl be able to 
find a ^ood section (tf laud some wh<'re near the line 
between Pike and Kali. As it is ])robable that the loca- 
tion which we intend to make will be sold, we ou<;ht to 
be governed in our choice not only by the quality of the 
land and situation, but also by the relative value sat 
upon it. As the limitation fast approaches, no time 
oujiht to be lost. 

I am informed that the directors of the Bank of 
Missouri have at last submitted to any terms imposed 
upon them lo satisfy the <lebt of the U. S. No doubt 
but this sudden chaniie of conduct is the result of the 
;idvice and direction of Benton who thereby imaj^ines 
that he will palliate the iniquity of the orii^inal trans- 
action, avoid furlhci' ])ublic investijjation, and claim at 
Washiuiiton the merits of haviiiii broujLiht about some 
thiuii like an equitable arran.iicment. It is certain and 
publicly known that Benton is indebted to the Bank for 
a sum of upwards of 111,000 and Scott for |10,000, part 
to the ])riucipal bank and to the branch bank at Ste. 
(lenevieve. 1 think you oujjht to state the fact on every 
occasion and e.\]Kitiate ui)on it. State, for instance, 
that the most influential friends of Scott, had the bank 
in their power; that they have loaned to tluMuselves 
and their i)olitical associates not only the capital of 
the bank but the deposits made by the U. S. and others. 



177 



That throuoii them the bank has failed and through 
them the hohlers of the notes of the bank at the time of 
the failure have lost 50 per cent upon them; that this 
institution has answered the doubh^ purpose of — — and 
of raising its favorites into power in the federal and 
fitate governments. Ycm miglit mention that I owe noth- 
ing to the bank, that I did not boiTow from the bank 
to pay my stock, nor liave I been instrumental in any of 
the evils consequent to the failure of tlie bank. Advise 
you to be moderate and cautious. 

I have received, yesterday, a letter from James Lucas, 
dated 12th of December. He says that he was not long 
before at Chouteau's camp on Grand River. He was 
received with much attention by Chouteau. Saw 
Christoph Sanguinet. He says also that he is going to 
settle in Crawford County, to which the emigration is 
very great. He states that he has been urged to offer 
for the legislature and has derhired himself accord- 
ingly. He expects to be elected without difficulty if no 
unforeseen accident happens. 

I was informed a few days past, that the young per- 
son Avas sick at Fte. during some time before her friends 
knew anything of it. Mrs. K'd went to see her and took 
her home Avith her. I have heard yesterday that she 
is much better. Perhaps you had better to come soon. 
I shall probably be able to help you Avith some money 
if you need it. I am going to complete the inventory 
and file it with the clerk, and also make a settlement 
of. accounts until this time. 1 should like very much 
you Avere here to induce Mr. Hunt to do his part. 

Yours, 

J. B. C. L. 



178 



St. Louis, January 6th, 1826. 
Wm. Lucas, 

My dear Win.: — Your letter of tlic 16th of Decern Vxt 
was received. I ;iin much gratified to hear that tlie 
sketch of aruuinciil lias ni(^t the general approbntion 
and vours ])arti(iil;irl.v. I liave transmitted about 70 
pamphlets containing the same to the city of Washing- 
ton. I h:i\(' ;ils() sent several to Phihidelphia, Pitts- 
burgh and other ]);nts. Although such a subject ought 
to be dry and very litth' entei'taining, the generality of 
rendeis. it api)ears, however, that I have so far suc- 
ceeded as to render it sutticiently clear and interesting. 
I am much mistaken if it has uot been as well j'cceived 
in St. Louis as among your acquaintances up the Mis- 
souri. Judge Peck has delivered lately his final opinion, 
which is essentially the same as before. ^Ir. Lawh^ss 
has taken an appeal. All the other cases are continued. 
He says that he will not proceed to a trial of these 
cases, but uniil he obtains a decision of the Supreme 
Court. He is an indefatigable man. 1 attended dur- 
ing all the time necessary to arrange the testimony, 
take exce])tious to diverse decisions of the court as to 
what was received or lejected, in order to make a full 
record. I couhl discover at last some signs of despon- 
dency on the part of Mr. L. through his pretende<l ap- 
pearance of confidence. 

It is probable th;it Pates will be candidate for Con- 
gress. If so, there will be a vacancy to fill. I should 
be very glad to see you on various accounts. You have 
e?een, I sui)pose, uiy criticism on the French Prospectus 
of Foreman and Kt'cmle. Their i-eply has compelled 
nu' to say much more than I first intended. 

It app(Mrs to be here the prevailing opinion that they 
have been much worsted. I sent vou a few hand bills 



179 



which I presume you have received and circulated 
amono: your friends. 

I am glad to learn that you have taken the necessary 
arrangements to redeem the land in Cole County. I 
have received yesterday a notice of Sarah Morin. and 
Geo. Jackson, guardian of the minor children and heins 
of Jolin Morin, deceased, dated December 26, 1825, that 
they intend to apply to the next court to be holden in 
Howard County for a decision of the estate, &c., which 
court will be holden in April next. I here enclose the 
notice, I hope you are provided with such authority 
and instructions as arc necessary to make the choice 
yourself, if not, 3'ou will let me know what is necessary 
to do. 

I have looked in the papers in vain for the documents 
relative to this land. I have some confused idea that I 
gave you a writing on that subject, however, it is not 
probable as you would have mentioned it in the receipt 
you gave me for the papers concerning Isidore Dupuir's 
location. As you have a better recollection than me I 
wish you to let me know if you ever saw such a paper. 
I think it best to enclose the notice just spoken of to- 
gether with an authorization to make the selecticm for 
us. I think it would be well to look into the county 
records for the deed of John Morin. Some information 
might be obtained there concerning the share we have, 
at any rate you would ascertain tlu- name of the person 
in whose name the location hais been made. There are 
•sever perscms who wish to buy that land. You might 
know from Geo. Han-ison the guardian or other neigh- 
bors what it might sell for. 



180 



February 13th, 1826. 
Wm. Lucas, 

My (Icnv S(tii: — I am inipationtly waiting for a letter 
from jou. I am becoming more fond of yon than nsual, 
I presnme il is bccanse I hear frequently very favorable 
accounts of you. Now, my dear son, you are sensible 
that you are assuming a respectable ground in society. 
It is by becoming useful to yourself that you become 
useful to others, and that you rise in the public opinion. 
1 assure you that nothing iis more gratifying to me. I 
know that I am doomed to lose soon my grasp of the 
world, in<l(MMl, I have been gradually prepared for it, 
but I think I shall retain a considerable concern for 
it if 1 see any of my eliildren filling a respectable space 
in the social order. 

1 wish to know whether you Avill be a candidate or 
not. I am informed that Mr. Grant intends to run for 
the Senate. I saw him the other day at St. Charlet>. 
He appeared distant. 1 approached him and en- 
deavored to humour him. I did put one of my pamph- 
lets in his hand. I am told that Dr. Talbert will run 
for the Senate also. I should regret you should be a 
candidate if your ])rospects are not the very best. Vou 
know, I presume tliat Bates is caudidate for Cougresvs. 
Mr. Giger looks for the Senate. He says, I am told, 
when he is asked if he is, he answers, the Senate is a 
high situation which ought not to be sought after nor 
refused. As fai- as 1 could kiKtw, it is doubtful that he 
would carry over Renton because he is not personally 
popular. He is com]dained of for having used roughly 
and mercilessly in debates the country members be- 
cause also they say the same objection lies against him 
as against 1>. lie is also much disliked by Bates and 
his friends. 



181 



It appears on all hands, however, his intimate friends 
excepted, that B. is unpopular. I am told that Steven- 
son from Wasliin^ton has said before a number of 
members at St. Charles, I could beat Benton for the 
Senate. I was asked at St. Charles durinj; session if 1 
would offer for the Senate. I answered that I never 
would i)ut it in the power of the people or any set of 
men in Missouri to j;ive me a refusal. That the le«»isla- 
ture in their electorial capacity ouoht not to be acted 
upon as the multitude, they ought to consult among 
themselves and point the person whom tliey believed to 
be the best (|ualitied and then ascertain if he would 
serve if elected. 1 ascertained whilst at St. Charles 
that my argument had been well received and made a 
very favorable impression so far as it liad circulated. 1 
distributed many pamphlets to the membeiw. 

I have written to Adrian to come and stay a while 
at ni}' house. If he does you will probably see me at 
Callaway at tlie court. Perhaps 1 shall go to Mont- 
gomery. I have many things to say to you which can- 
not find room in a letter. If I can raise funds probably 
I shall go to Pennsylvania in April. I think Congress 
will not adjourn before the middle of Ma}'. 

Your affectionate father, &c., «&c., 



October 23, 1826. 
Wm. Lucas, 

Agreed for sale of lot of ground of Adrian Lucas .|-150. 
|!150 in hand, the remainder in two yearly payments. 
Have not heard of you since your departure. My case 
against representatives of Makay continued. District 
Court adjourned t<» 1st Monday January. Major Bidle 
candidate in earnest, has exposed Benton in the upper 
counties, Ford's remarks, great depression in Benton. 

182 



Torch lij^lit juiiilcd in pamphlet. T have drafted pe- 
tition to Con^icss. Object is to have ( lainiants in conit. 
IJcnton lias taken petition from claimants to the presi- 
dent. 



Jany. 24, 1827. 
Wm. Lucas, 

(Letter to, not important, exi)hiinin,n why 1 have not 
been writini:: during session of Lejiishiture, Source of 
information not at St. Louis, it was at Jefferson.) 



KSt. Louis, July 21st, 1827. 
Wm. Lucas, 

My dear son: — T was just ii<)in_u to write to you when 
your letter of July Kith was receive<l. T atten<led tli<' 
public sales of the relinquislied lands durin«>- 2 days and 
out of more than (JO quarter sections cried out on the 
1st day, none but i quarter section was sold. I bouoht 
on the 2d day the half (]uarter relinquished beinj^ ])art 
of the Jialf quarter where Adiian resides, at the rate of 
|1,25 cents per acre. No on<' bid over me. None that 
I know of has been sold for more than the minimum 
price. I saw there Christo])her Talbert who purchased 
but little land. I had no sooner shown him some little 
politen<'ss than he directly apidi(<l to me tor a loan of 
money tt) help him to make his jiayments. Perhaixs it 
is for want of funds that he did not bid over nu-. 1 am 
sorry t(» Invir that Adrian is so impatient to {;et mar- 
rie<l. Vou miuht sugjjest to him that situated as he is 
he i-aunoi many but some very low and trifiiuii woman, 
and beinj; destitute of bodily jMtwer and possessinj; very 

183 



few means as to shift and management be will inevi- 
tably sink in poA^ert}' and perhaps be slighted and de- 
serted by his wife. That in waiting' a little longer he 
may with his own funds and a little pecuniary assist- 
ance from me, have a black woman and some children 
who will afford him a present comfort and better pros- 
pects, whilst at the same time it will enable him to 
marr}" to better advantage. If he jield to my advice I 
will also give him the half quarter section adjoining 
him. 

I am informed that Col. Strother has bought of the 
widow of Louis Chancellier of St. Charles, her preten- 
sions upon an arpent and a half on 40 sold to me by 
Auguste Chouteau, originally granted to Joseph Ga- 
niache and Rene Riercereau. From examination of my 
titles and the laws of Spain, I feel perfectly at ease 
notwithstanding the blustering of Strother and Law- 
less. The latter hinted to Mr. Hunt the other day that 
the trouble and expense of attending a suit before the 
District Court of the U. S. at Jefferson would be great. 
That i>erhaps it would be more advantageous to me to 
make a compromise. I know that their sole hope is to 
ransom me, but they shall be disapi>>>iuted. 

The trade of St. Louis is daily increasing. Perhaps 
it may be checked for a while by the hostilities of the 
Indians at the mine of Fievre River. I was offered some 
weeks past, |1500 for the square north of Capt. Brent by 
Mr Collier of St Charles. 

You know, T presume, that the French and S|>anish 
land claimants have signalized their defeat by causing 
all their suits pending before the District Court at Ste. 
Genevieve and St. Louis to be dismissed except one at 
Ste. Genevieve and one at St. Louis. The number dis- 
missed at St. Louis is 180 including that of Makay's 



184 



heirs interfering with Baptist Lalleur h)eati()u where 
Herry and Vailliant reside. 1 received a patent for the 
Manie one week after the dismissal. Mr. Benton was at- 
torney of record in several of the suits dismissed. 1 
keep something; in reserve to eoufouud him. It is re- 
marked here that Benton is shunned and ncj^h'cted. 
I'robahly many of his friend.s arc avshann'd of liim. 1 
presume you have seen in a hitc number of I he Kcpiib- 
liean how he has behaved with J(din Jones, formerly 
brick layer at St. Louis in a certain pecuniary trans- 
action. 

I found the other day anions my papers a letter «)f 
James Bcaty rcfcrriuii explicitly to his bond and urj^ing 
me to make selection for 100 acres of land a<;reeably 
to the same. If you know where Beaty is let me know 
it. I b«dieve a partition has been made of the same be- 
f(tre, haviui; been serv(Hl with a notice for that j»urpose 
two oi* three yeans since. I ho]>e you liave paid the 
taxes for the land near tlie mouth of Manitou and at 
Cotes Sans Dessein. 

It seems to me that from the standiun I understand 
you occupy at the bar and the many counties which 
you attend, you ouiiht t(( receive a tolerable remunera- 
tion. Perhajis you cany your liberality too far. This 
is the only fault your friends chari»e you with. Thi.^ 
is certainly an honorable fault, but 3'ou oui]!;ht to reflect 
that in thi^; country, but with very few exceptions, no 
one is i»ropeily an object of charity, and that knavery 
and baseness ouj^ht not to be encouram'd. If y(»u are 
determined to be easy and liberal let it' be only with 
sound discretion. If many of yt)ur clients cannot pay 
you imme<liat(ly at any rate never miss to take an evi- 
dence of their debt, payable some time however re- 
mote. I make these remarks because T have been often 

i 

185 



sufferer from my own honorable disposition and had no 
thanks for it. 

My intended journe}' to the east ma}' be pr()tracted 
until September or October next. I see no one to whom 
I can leave tlie manai;ement of my concerns but you. 
I wisli you (((uld make it oouvenient to come to see me 
in Au<;ust. Sh<tnld you purchase a piece of land some 
where and commence improving it, I could give you my 
farming utensiks and a couple of horses, probably some 
houisehold furniture. Simon is returned from Memphis 
greater villian than ever. He is now run away. So 
much for my forbearance. From all I can see the 
prospects of Adam are improving. Jackson has com- 
mitted himself particularly- in his letter concerning the 
G militia meji. He is now at issue with Clay by his 
letter to Carter Beverly and tlie denial of Clay. The 
member of Congress of high respectability alluded to in 
Jackison's letter is supposed to be either Scott or Benton 
Such is the opinion of Gyer and others. 

Dear son, I am yours, 

JOHN B. C. L. 



St. Louivs, Augt. 12, 1827. 
Wm. Lucas, 

My dear son: — Since my last to you of the 21st ulto. 
various incidents having taken place, I feel induced to 
write to you again without waiting for your answer. 
At bust 1 have received through the marshal a written 
notice under the name of Daniel Strother of Jefferson 
County, Kentucky, to give him up the possession of two 
arpens of land bcumded on one side south by land orig- 
inally granted to Baptiste Berket and on the other 
side north, by Louis Bissonet, which included the arpent 
originally granted to Bene Kencereau and the other to 

18G 



Joseph (Jauuulu'. 1 iiiHlerstand tluit this Daniel 
Stiother is the brolher of O. F. Strother and that a con- 
veyance lias been made to him in onh'i* to avoid the 
jurisdiction of Judi»e Carr, and brinj; suit before the 
Distrit-t Court of the V. S. -lud^c ( 'arr is threat iiicd to 
be ksued also by Str<»t hci' and Lawh'ss for the recovcrv of 
the arpent on which his dwcllinj^ liouse stands. O'Fal- 
lon's house stands on tlic same arpent. Carr, seeinjjj 
that he and I arc sonic what isimilarlj situated has In- 
vitc<l me to a conference. 1 accepted tlu' proposal, 
calh-d at liis iiouse the day foUowin^. 1 ini])arted my 
idea of (h'fense. he r<'cii»i*ocated me hivs own. He ap- 
peared to be very well satisfied with my ccunmunicatiou. 

The day after Tuesday ia^it the action of of the 

widow Marty aiiainst Tessou lionctre for the house and 
lot occu])i(Ml by the latter was tried. I attended during 
the whole time. 1 heard moisl attentively the defense 
of Tesson by (Jyer. lie said nothing new to me and 
omitted many things. Probably out of suraboundance 
of meaiiis anions (tther thiniis he relied upon a prescrip- 
tion under Sjjanish laws in consiMiuence that TTonore 
had a possession of ten yeaiv before the common law 
had been introduced by the statute of the territory. Mr. 
Carr in his charge to the jury sustained that position. 
It was late in the eveninii when the argument was 
close<l. The court directed the jury to seal their ver- 
dict when agreed, and meet in the morning. It is un- 
derstood that the jury made up their verdict in a few 
minuteN. The case was argued by Strother for the 
plainlilT. The widow had agreed to h't him have one- 
half of the house and loi if she liained and if she lost 
she was to be clear of all costs and ex|»enses. Strother 
is extremely odious ami (heap, lie did not deny in his 
argument the principle of prescription by ten years 



187 



possession between individuals, but he contended that 
the title was still in the king and that no prescription 
run against the king. The public opinion secerned to 
run strong against Strother and his client. It is the 
same, I am persuaded, in his claim against me, 
Auguste riiouteaii, ]\faj(»r (Miristv, O'Fallou, Carr seem 
to be glad as 1 understand of the intended attack of 
Strother and Lawless against me, believing that I am 
able to make a good defense. 

I shall call for your services as counsel as soon as the 
writ will be served upon me. 1 expect it every day. I 
have lieard nothing from f^trother in the course of his 
argument for the widow Marty but what I could answer 
with the gn'atest ease, not excepting his distinction as 
to the effect of prescrijition. 

There is, of hite, a ver^'^ great increase of lawyers at 
St. Louis, say 8 or 9. It is said that John O'Fallou will 
be candidate for elector for Adams. Kutger's place ad- 
joining Ju<lge Bent has been purchascxl for the use of 
an arsenal. They are already hauling timber to it. I 
had a short visit from Adrian. He appears to be more 
reserved than usual. He is very saving. I made him a 
deed of the whole quarter sectionj where he resides. 
He left me on the 5th or 6th inst, to go to Loutre again. 

Let me repeat that I shall be glad to see you at St. 
Louis as soon as you conveniently can. I wish you 
would suggest to Adrian, next time you see him, that 
you believe that I shall help him up in procuring him 
a negro man and a negro woman. That being crippled 
and unable to rise a crop himself it would be the heighth 
of folly to pretend to have a wife and rise a family. 
That thus circumstanced no decent girl nor her rela- 
tions could think it reasonable that she should marry 
a crippled man without any means to support her, but 



188 



bv waitiiii; niilil lie li;is a foiiph^ of slaves he may make 
a iiiatcli wliicli may uive him comfort all his life with- 
out t^o now and shame. Von miiilit add as yonr o])inion 
thai in case he should disiiaianc himself bv makiui; 
liastil\ an iuii»i()|i('i- cjioicc of a com|»aniou lie mi^lit for- 
U'\\ my i;(»od will au<l alfection, and feel the ett'ects of it 
both whilst 1 live and even after my death. 

Adieu, «S:c., 



St. Louis, Jany. 10, 1828. 
Wm. Lucas, 

My dear son: — I received Avith much pleasure your 
letter of the 23d ulto. The aboundanc<' and richness of 
the silver ore which y(»u speak of cannot fail to be of 
j^reat benefit both ])ublic and priAate. 

Von appear to be disposed to give up yimr professional 
pursuits in or(l<*r. 1 suppose, to take an interest in those 
mines. Perhaps it would be ])roper that you should 
consult the most approved books and mineralogy and 
satisfy yourself from your own observation and actual 
ex])eriments what may be the probable expense and 
benefit attending the working of that mine, for any 
miscalculation might be attended with ruinous conse- 
quences. PeiliajKs by diligent enquiry you might find 
more land containing such nnneral which is not yet 
sold, and if so you ought to come ])romptly and pur- 
chase it. H'you were wanting funds 1 should en<leavor 
to help yon in procuring tli( ni. On snch occasions the 
least dclav might be fatal. 

If .V(ui had no interest in \iew in that silvi'r mine, 1 
think that the extraordinary ])rofits which many one 
have made and are making at the Fever Kiver mines 
w(tnld well justify that yon should go there to explore 
the mineral region and examine clo«ely all the advan- 

ISU 



tages that may be derived from adventuring in business 
there, obtaining lease, mining, &c. In my opinion the 
isurest way to succeed woukl be to form a partnership 
with some jjerson able to advance a capital sufficient to 
procure goods suitable to the place and carry on smelt- 
ing. We have before U8 the examples of many who have 
been astonishingly snccessful. l^]ven the (Jratiots who 
certainly are not \ery well versed in business are mak- 
ing extraordinary profits. I have heard (tf i^everal 
others who liavc already made little fortunes, for in 
stance, Forgucsson. the rehition of .Tolin Scott who was 
a noted ganihler at St. Lonis, wJMm you know well, 
has been very snccessful. He arriv<Ml the other day at 
St. Louis with a draught from the (Iratiots on Pratt 
& Co. for |(it)0() due him for lend ore. There are a few, 
however, that are not successful. Alfred Sangrain is 
lately returned here from the mines after an unsuccesvS- 
ful attempt at mining. It is reported that he has been 
very industrious ther(\ That he has been working him- 
self and ])erseveringly too. lie has sunk about |800. 
The wages of winking liandis is very high, say from .^20 
to $25 per month, thus, if one don't hai)])en to strike the 
vein or stratum in short time, a small capital is soon 
exhausted. From yoni- saying tiiat you have succeeded 
very well at the late courts, not in makinu money, but 
in increasing your re])utatioii at the bar, it ap])ear.s 
to uu^ evidently that yon have now a cai)ital, wiiiidi, if 
not transnnssible to your heir<s, cannot fail from be- 
coming productive whilst you live in the ratio of the 
increase of the wealth and ])o])ulation of the country 
wherein you lyractice law, and this im-rcMse mnst 
necessarily take place. You have begun with the 
country and you are growing with it. This is an ad- 
vantage which but few in your profession enjoy, and 



100 



which on«»ht not to be slijihted. We are the artifirers 
ill a nicat dcuico of our (twii liap])iii('iss T ,im well 
satistird tluil many a ojn' liavc dcriM'd not inconsider- 
able ctiniruii jioni sidiations niucli less cinijiblc than 
yours. I assure you thai 1 feel a L!;reat <;ratiti<atioii 
from havinjLj often heard that yon onjoy an nnnsnal 
share of (he personal f^ood will, contidence and att'cction 
(d' the peojiie that i-^urronnd you. Tliese sentiments are 
b;ised Upon somethin;^ mmh ukuc solid than political 
poi)uiarity. There is iiothin;:, evanescent in these ad- 
vantaj»('S. They have been ac(iuired by the ii-ennine 
emanations of your iiKual chaiacter and cannot fail to 
be retained by the same means. This is a valuable 
ingredient in the sum of happineiss which is allotted to 
man. 

I have been much worse with the cold I had when 
you went away. I thoujuht for some days that I was 
uoiug to make a ]»rompt exit. I am recovering though 
shtwly. 1 ha\«' giv(Mi up long since all hope of going 
to the east this time. Capt. Gjer expects to be in your 
part of the country some time before next March. He 
has told me he would call on you. There were two 
jtoliiical UH^etiugM at St. Louis, as you \u\yv learned, that 
for AdauKs was the most numerous and under other re- 
spects more respectable. 1 declined to be one of the 
committee to report the preamble and the resolutions. 
1 voted against the preamble without stating any rea- 
sons. 

I am correctly iurormed .i uumlur of person}^ amongst 
whom 1)1-. La lie ami I>en O'Fallon are couiit»ML have 
been iiiiich olTeM(le<I ill coiisequ*'Uce of (Jov. Miller, 
Benton, ^^tc, having designated or selected \Vm. Ashley 
f(U' (uie of the electors without previous consultation, 
1 am persuaded that the elements of discord amongst 



101 



them will reoeive a full development in a short space of 
time. From what I have heard there is no doubt but 
that there will be a strong opposition made to Bate^ 
at the next election, however. I iiave been able to dis- 
cover that they are at loss for a person to oppose him 
with probability of success. 

Adieu, 

J. B. C. L. 
Let me hear of vou as often as vou can. 



St. Louis, May 1st, 1822. 
James Lucas, 

Sir: — The law books belonginji to the estate of C. 
Lucas have been sold some time since at auction. The 
greatest part of them have been bought by Adrian 
Lucas. I have taken them from his hand by assuming 
to pay the price which he had bought them for. 

1 have given a part of them to ^^'lll. Lucas. 1 intend 
to send you the other part when yon will have given me 
directions how and where to send them. 

J. B. C. L. 



St. Louis, April loth, 1823. 
James Lucas, 

Sir:— I have forwarded you a trunk by the steamboat 
Calhoun which is to be left to the care of Wm. Mont- 
gomery «& Co., mouth of White Kiver. It contains the 
follows books: 

Henning & ]\[umford 3 Vol. 

Mumford's Keports 2 " 

Bosanquet & Puller 5 " 

Atkins Reports 3 " 

Vernon's Reports 3 " 

192 



Bradbv's ou Distress 1 Vol. 

Law of Attac'liraents 1 " 

Rlaf'ksfonc C'oiniiient 4 " 

Cook's |{('lM)lts 1 " 

F(tiit lihink K(\u\iy 2 " 

Trial Vv\ Tais 2 '' 

Powcl (111 INfWcns 1 " 

( lilhort lOvidciice 1 " 

Peak's Eviaence 1 " 

Es i)iiia.ss nisi pii 2 " 

Peak's Nisi 1 '^ 

Pleader's Assistant 1 " 

Leach's Crown Law 1 " 

Francis Maxim 1 " 

LovelasNon Kills 1 " 

Wilson on Arbitration 1 " 

Bnrleniaqne 2 " 

Terms, Kei)orlN. Dinest 1 " 

Laws, r. S 5 " 

I lent Ml. W 111. Ihissel, :Mar(li 21, 1823, Washington 
I\('|)ts.. 1st and 2d vol., and the 4th v<d. of Henniug & 
Mnmfoi'd. I have dircctcMl him to deliver thos<' books to 
yon after the trial of a ca«e in whieh he intends to make 
nse of them. 

Farewell, 

J. B. C. L. 
Copy of r(M('ii)t foi waided to James Lnca^; an<l en- 
closed ill 111)' forciioiiiii. 

St. Louis, Ai)ril 10, 1823. 
Received of .Tolin 1>. ('. Lucas one trunk said to con- 
tain books wliich I obliiiate myself to deliver to U'm. 
Montgomery »S: Co., at- the month of the White Kiver on 
])ayuient of one dollar freight foi' same. 

E. F. BUSH, 
Clk. Calhoun. 
103 



June 30th, 1821. 
Adrian Lucas, 

I received your letter of May the 12th ulto. My son, 
had I consulted nothinjj; but my feelings I should have 
answered it much wooner, but I thus postponed in order 
to impress your mind that the forbearance of a father 
if carried too far might bring him into contempt or at 
least make him too cheap. From my recollection of 
your good disposition towards me during the life of 
your mother and for a long time since, 1 cannot but suis 
pect that some evil minded persons have artfully con- 
trived to create discontent in your mind. I wish you 
may guard yourself better hereafter against the in- 
sinuations of my secret enemies. You are without 
guile or deception. Of course knaves may have im- 
posed upon you and may try again. I love you and 
I wish you may be persuaded that I am the best friend 
you have. 

I would cheerfully let you settle on the land you 
allude to, half a mile from Capt. Hunt if it was prac- 
ticable, but from the trial you had at farming with 
houses and fields ready for plowing and also other 
means, it cannot be expected that you could succeed 
when every thing is to be done and Avhen you are 
destitute of means. I shall be happy to see you when 
you think proper to call in. You may, if you choose, 

come and stay with me. 

I am your friend, 

J. B. C. L. 



February' 7th, 1826. 
Adrian Lucas, 

(Letter to, inviting to come and spend two or three 
weekis at my house. Might have opportunity to sell lot 
to enable him to purehase servant, male or female. 

194 



Perhaps better to sell his place for price of a negro. 
He iiiiiiht settle on my land or on land of estate of C. L. 
Speak not about what Dr. Talbert tohl liini or upon 
same isubjccl. On necessary occasions, consult Wm. or 
myiself as liis best friends, &c.) 

Yours, 



October 23, 1826. 
Adrian Lucas, 

Informing him I have contracted under i)enalty that 
lie wonhl execute (bed of one lot of ground, considera- 
tion |450, to-\vi(, |150 in hand, the remainder in two 
yearly payments witli interest. |{e(iu(»st him to come 
soon, or else write to me an<l h't me know when he will 
come. 



St. Louis. June 15, 1827. 
Adrian Lucas, 

(Informing him tliat I have received his letter of 7th 
June. Tliat 1 have endeavored to purchase negro 
woman for him. That I am about writing to S. (Jhissock 
foi' informal ion on same subject. 1 could have pur- 
chased one »»r two for |:iOO and -1350 but was not satis- 
lied avs to their (iualiticati(ms. I intend to Penn- 

sylvania in commencement of next Se])t. to return again 
next March or A])ril. 1 shall be glad to see him when 
he can make it convenient.) 

Atfectionatelv, &c.. 



St. Louis, October 17, 1821. 
J. J. Lucas, 

(First part of letter written in French.) 
very pleasing. These words are so appropriate that 
this circumstance henc(^ forth will relieve me from 

lUo 



the difficulty to write in a languajie less familiar to me 
tlian the Euglish. 

The territor}' of Missouri is now elected into a state, 
and I have ceased to be judge since that event. I was 
candidate for the federal senate. I have not succeeded. 
I might have been the most wealthy and popular man 
of the state, if as commissioner for the domaiUiS of the 
U. S. in Louisiana to adjust and quiet claims and ascer- 
tain titles to land, I had colluded with the land claim- 
ants and made a report to the government of the U. S. 
favorable to their colossal claimis, but I feel an iri'esist- 
ible and hereditary dis[K)sition to preserve official 
purity. My lot is cast, and I! bid adieu to popular 
favors. AVhilst I was in Pennsylvania the interests of 
my constituents were going in unison with those of 
the U. S. Here the pretensions to lands of those who 
were formerly Spanish subjects and many Anglo- 
Americans who have since purchased from them are at 
variance with the interests of the U. S. I have taken 
the honest side, but it is not here the profitable one. 
The ancient population formerly subject to Spain, con- 
sist in Canadians, French, Creoles and few European 
French and Spaniards. They are not destitute of pri- 
vate virtues, but possess very little or no public spirit. 
They have become my bitter enemies. If I had longer 
days to live I might weather the storm in Missouri. I 
know that I should be very acceptable as a public man 
if I chose to go back to Pennsylvania, but I feel per- 
fectly satisfied to spend the remainder of my days in 
private life. 

Notwithstanding the broad hint you give me as to the 
communications which I have uiade to Mde. DeliUbee 
concerning divers unfortuiuite events in my family, T 
cannot become sensible of any impropriety on that head. 



n)i; 



If they are traj'ic they betray no baseness. I confess 
lliat I am aslianunl of the conduct of isome of my near 
rchitives, but they are not on the west side! of the 
Atlantic. 

In order to j»ive you some idea of my unfortunate son 
the htte Major Jiobt. Lucas, 1 here transcribe a letter 
which he wrote me seven day^s before his death. 

French Mills, 2nd Feby., 1814. 
Dear and beloved father, 

Had 1 not had repeated testimonies of your fortitude, 
i woukl not now inform you that 1 am on the brink of 
my <»rave. 1 have a severe illneiss which couLUienced 
about seven days ago with the) mumps and is now 
inflammatory. I was verj' sickly coming down the lake 
and the St. Lawrence. It is but a short time «ince I 
had recovered of those summer sicknesses. 1 am very 
much grieved at never having received a letter from 
3'ou. I got several from Charles and one from Nancy. 
1 enclosed him last summer from Fort George $130 for 
you, and in one of my letters to you T enclosed flO. In 
coUkSequence of sickneSiS and the pressures of the cam- 
paign I have not written home for five months. What 
I most regret is not to die in battle were nu' country 
might be benefitted, at the battle of AVilliams my regi- 
ment was in the rear guard. Have had no participa- 
tion in the affair. 

My best affection to brother Charles, Adrian, sister 

Nancy, brother William and James. Lif<''s but a 

phant«)m. 

Adieu beloved father, 

R. LUCAS. 

I have h<re some money, say fl30, my horse, ^:c., c'tc., 
•Sec, also one month pay du(\ but I don't know what 

197 



will becoDie of it. If it should reach home I want it to 
be given to brother Adrian in testimony of my love 

'"''■ ''™- E. LUCAS. 

I have not as yet received the compt, exact from 
E. V. Lucas which you promised in your last he would 
send me immediately. More than ten years have 
elajjsed since 1 have received any letters from him, and 
you officiously answer in part in his behalf, as if you 
guessed that he dares not or intends not to write him- 
self. Adrian has not as yet received your answer to his 
letter, neither did I expect that he Avould although you 

say in your letter to me 1 beg of you to understand 

distinctly that I never advised Adrian or any of my 
other children to write to you. I know that none but 
him have written. He is 

Had E. V. Lucas availed himself of the letter of intro- 
duction to the minister plenipotentiary of the [T. S. at 
the court of France which 1 enclosed to him some years 
since, he would have learned from the best authority 
that no lady in the state of Pennsylvania stood higher 
than my wife did in virtue aud other accomplishments. 
He would have learned that when the same minister 
was appointed minister of tinauces, I filled the seat 
which he had before occupied in the Congress of the 
U. S. He might have been informed of other particu- 
lars concerning myself and family. 

My address is John B. C. Lucas, St. Louis, State of 
Missouri. J B C L 



St. Louis, Jany. 4, 1821. 
Nathaniel Macon, 

Dear Sir: — Having some expectation to be put in 
nomination before the Senate for the office of Judge of 

198 



the District Court of the V. K. for the state of Missouri 
and beini; api>reh(Misive that Mesc^rs. liartoii and P>eiitoii 
will opp(vse oi- endeavor to j)revenl Ihe contirmation 
by the Senate, I bei; knive to state that Mr. Benton 
was elected to the Senate by no more than one vote of 
majority; that there were five candidates and I was 
next to him; that I was powerfully opposed by the 
French and Spanish land claimants whose interest and 
intiuence has much increased the many transfers they 
have made of parts of their claims to influential citi- 
zens, both in this state and in Kentucky; that this oppo- 
sition proceeds from my having- made a report as land 
commissioner, unfavorable to their claims, and that I 
could have secured myself with the greatest certainty, 
a seat in the Senate, provided I had broken the trust 
reposed in me as land commissioner, or, in other words, 
made the best interest of the V. S. yield to their ground- 
less pretensions. The land claimants have done all 
they could in favor of the election of Messrs. Barton and 
Benton. They therefore confident ly depend ui)on their 
exertions to procure the conhrmation of theii' land 
claims and keej) me down by ever}^ possible means. 
Probably I may be represented to be an emanci])ator, 
if my enemies think that this will answer their end. 
I am. 

Respectfully, &:c.. 



Nov. IG, 1821. 
Nathaniel Macon, 

Sir: — Your letter of the 2nth of Jany. last in aiiswer 
to mine of the 4th of the same month was received. 
The difticulti(^s that wen^ unfortunately last session in 
the way of the unconditional admission of (»ui- state 
into the union of course prevented the president fi-om 

199 



makiuj; a nomination for District Judge. If I am cor- 
rectly informal, nn* enemies at AYashiugton have suc- 
ceeded in creating prejudices against me in tlie mind 
of the Preisident. Thev have reported that I Iiave en- 
couraged several members from the non .slave holding 
states to vote against the admission of the state, assur- 
ing them or giving them to understand that the op- 
ponents to slavery were getting Into jjower, that if they 
held out the consequence would be that a clause in- 
hibiting slavery would at last be introduced into the 
constitution. 

Now, sir, having given up all pretensions to the ap- 
pointment in (juestion, feeling perfect!}' independent 
both in spirit and circumstance, without caring in the 
least about the smiles or frowus of anybo<ly, great or 
small, and particularly aissuring you that I ask nor ex- 
pect favor from any one, I .shall declare from a mere 
regard to truth and in order to expose the authors ot 
such calumnies that I have not been since at least 
these three years, 25 miles beyond the bounds of the 
territory or state of Missouri; that I have not written to 
any peiison at Washington or elsewhere anything di- 
rectly or indir(Htly for or against the questions for au- 
thorizing the tcrritt>r3' of Missouri to become a state or 
for the admission of the state of Missouri into the union, 
nor have 1 at any time urged or suggested ati home 
or abroad that .slavery ought to be inhibited in the 
state of ]\Iiissouri. I must inform you that the S])anish 
land claimants in (Uii- state, whose great wcaltli aris- 
ing from confirmations of land claims and prospective 
interest has been productive of great ca ils in our elec- 
tions, have succeeded in having their friends and part- 
ners sent to Washington. As one of the land commis- 
sioners having been the least favorable to their claims 



200 



as will npponr by the roport of the o()minissi(MU'rs on 
the land claims N\liicli is Iodised in the iiciioral land 
office, I have of conivsc been the ])i'incipal object of their 
hatred and peiseciition. No doubt but their ancnt?^ 
have not b(K'n idle, and to these laist I ascribe all the 
false reports an<l calumnies with which I have been 
annoyed (luring the hist session. This stroke of policy 
or iniquity was a capital one as it wais calculated to 
auswer three valuable pur])oseis: 1st of preventing; nie 
to be appointed judiie; 2d to give the oi>portunity to 
secure the ai)i>ointment to one of th(Mr creatures; 3d 
to interrupt the contidence and j^oixl nnderstandin*;" 
existiuji between me and many members from the Houth 
iu order that my communications to them on the merit*! 
of their land claims should be unproductive of a due 
effect, and, in fact, make them hoistile to me. 

There will be, no doubt, lireater efforts than ever 
ma(h' (lurinu t iiis isession to ])rocure the passaj»e of some 
acts in favor of laud claimants. Many a pretext will be 
used; many jilausible stories will be told for the attain- 
ment of that object; h't me only observe you that Con- 
gress has ah-eady gone in its acts on that subject far 
beyond the most liberal justice. Let me assure you 
again that those claims are illegal and in (juantities 
contrary to the Spanish policy an<l system of coloniza- 
tion, that many are fraudulent, not duly autheutieated, 
nor have the citucessions for th(^ nn)st i)art (»f them been 
issued by the proper oflicer. At any rate if they possess 
any merit the sure and constitutional way is to have 
them i-eferr<'d to a court of justice. In case the sub- 
ject conies before the Senate, 1 think that Thos. H. 
Heiiton <uiglit not to be sulTered to v«»te, for 1 know 
he was the agent and counsel of the hind chiimants 
whilst at St. Louis, and I am informed and confidently 



201 



believe that he has the promise of a fee iu land con- 
tingent on the eontirniation of those claims. As to 
John Scott, I know he is a land claimant. 

For the i)nblic and i)rivate character which I enjoy in 
Missouri for the course which I have taken on the ques- 
tion of slavery, I refer you to Messrs. Meirion Edwards 
and Cook from Illinois, they both live not more than 
20 miles distance^ from St. Louis; being un(*(»ncerned in 
our local jealousies they are the best qualified to make 
an impartial statement of facts. I beg of 3^ou to keep 
in your mind that I don't descend to excuse myself 
before anybody, but with only to prevent knaves from 
disturbing the good understanding that exists or ought 

to exist between honest men. 

Respectfully, 

J. B. C. L. 



St. Louis, Jany. 20th, 1817. 
Josyah Meigs, 

John Scott's resolution concerning laud claims, Mis- 
souri territory to form a board, including register of 
land office, impolicy of resolution, all parole and written 
evidence concerning land claims contained iu the re- 
port of land commissionens, made Jany., 1812, legal 
principles to be a{)plied to them are Spanish and may 
be applied at Washington unless claims not before re- 
corded be admitted to record, iu which case flood of 
corru])tiou open again. If anything to be done, better 
to be instructed to recorder Frederick Bates. He is 
much more fit and less objectionable under every re- 
spect than the register. 

In my opinion A. McNear inadequate to the duties of 
his office; unconnected with the duties incumbent on a 
commissioner, such as contemplated by the resolution 

202 



of Mr. Scott. TTc iicinicr cjiii write nor spell. Tliiss Ls 
not liis fault, but liis misfortune, lie had no opportu- 
nities. 

I know the man this great while. He is native of 
IV'nn.sylvania. Had lived lonii time in my nei<i,hbor- 
liood near Pittsburiih. All his coniK'ctions there are 
r(Ml<'ral. lie used to act the part of federal bully at 
the elections in the district which 1 rei)resented in Con- 
gress. He gave and received severe beating on the 
score of politics. 

lie came li< re, Missouri Territiuy, about eleven; or 
twelve years ago. Took side with Wilkinson, was one 
of his coiitideiitial subordinates; .always since com-, 
placent and obsecjuious towards those he thinks to have 
most power, never leaving that iside. Having once a 
case before the Sui)reme Court he i)resented his affi- 
davit to c(turt, stating that he had reason to believe 
that I was inimical to him; expecteil no justice and 
requested that 1 should not sit on his case. I believe 
he knew well my character. The reverse was hit< opin- 
ion and his case was such that nothing but justice was 
to be dreaded by him. 1 \n\u\ no regard to his appli- 
cation. Since that as sheriff he acted very impioperly 
at court on a certain occasion. 1 was one of the court. 
He was rei)rimanded. lie ought to have been fined and 
imprisoned. 

He was candidate for <lelegate last election tw<» years. 
One of his ne])hews fought and abused one or more of 
those who voted or made interest against him. 

A. McNear was very active about the last election. 
He exerted all his influence in favor of Scott. Lavished 
all kinds of abuse in words and writijigs against Easton. 
About one we(dv betore the election he became very 
boisterous. He struck in the middle of the street, with 



203 



liLs fist jiiul (li'inv a dirk against a very or<l(^rly aud 
well-b('liavio<; yoiiug mau, who was then readiujj; hiws 
under Mr. Easton. 

When I was at Washington I was informed of Mr. 
McNear's application for the office of register. I 
thought tliat under every respect he was not deserving 
that appointment. Indeed, 1 never could have taken on 
myself to recommend him, but, taking into view that 
he had a large aud increasing family to provide for and 
also his other apparent circnmstances, I abstained from 
interfering. I no^^' regret t«) not have come forward in 
due time and been plain and explicit about his unfit- 
ness. 

Ak to his having been a federal bully at elections, 
I refer you to Mr. Thomas Wilson, a representative from 
Pennsylvania. 



Dec. 21vst, 1819. 
Jos. Meigs, 

This letter will be handed to you by V(Miables a 
gentleman who resides in St. Louis since three or four 
years, lie was recommended to me when he first came 
here, by one of my friends from Philadelphia. 

Understanding that he is going to spend a part of his 
winter at Washington, my own acquaintance with him 
induces me to introduce him to you and recctmmend 
him to your civilities and polite attention. 

(Sig.) JNO. B. C. L. 



St. Louis, April 7, 1821. 
Josiah Meigs, 

Sir: — A certain Mr. Piggot who is my neighbor aud 
friend, having lost or miislaid two certificates and dis- 
charges by which it appears that John Shoemaker and 

204 



Joliii Pratt enlisted on the 2()tli day of Au|Tjnst, 1814, 
in (\i])f. Wnltci' XN'ilkinson's conipanv in tlu* 24tli regi- 
nuMit of tile r. S. and llial tlicv arc respectively en- 
titled lo (he mililary land Ixmnty as provided by law. 

i bej; leave l<> i-e<|nest yon to eanse to be ascertained 
whether any <lis(liari;(' and certificates relative to tin- 
above named peisoms have been presented in yonr <;t1tice, 
and any laixl liianled in pursuance of llu' same, 

I ho|>c yon will be so ^ood as to i;ive me as S(M)n as 
convenient, su( h infoiination as may be obtained, and 
mention the fees that may be dne, wiiich I vshall remit 
without delay. I am, «S:c., 

Kespectfully, 

J. B. C. L. 



St. Louis, Jany. 1th, 1817. 
Jeremiah Morrow and Joseph Barnnm, 

Sir.*<: — Bein<» informed that the claimants of land in 
the territory ef Missouri are niakinii ureat exertions 
to have a law passed tliis session for the confirmation 
of the residue of the unconfirmed claims. I be<» leave 
to di-aw youi- altentiou u])on that inii)ortant subject. 
Yon have taken notice jtrobably. that an act of Con- 
<i,ress entitled "An Acl for the I'Mnal Adjusinu'Ut (d' 
Land Titles in the State (d" Louisiana and the Territory 
of Missouri", dated 12tli of Ai)ril, 1811, has de[)arted 
from Hie fundamental piiuciiths ^overniui; all acts 
heretofcu'c passed on that^ subject. The principle of 
those acts i.s that no concession or _i;rant from or under 
the Frenth or S^janish (Jovernments have any lej;al 
effects against the United States ujiless they were made 
oi- issued jiiior to t he date of the Treaty of St. Ildefonso, 
to-wit: the 1st day of October. 1800. The act before 
recited embraces and acknowledges^ any incomplete 

20.") 



French or Spanish concession which was granted be- 
fore the tenth day of March, 1804, for hinds lyinii within 
the territory of Missonii, provi<led each claim does not 
exceed one leaj^ne square. This innovation covers all 
antidating and fraud. It operates as a wedge to in- 
troduce the residue of claims unconfirmed. It pro- 
duces over-reaching effects; it impairs materially the 
right to tlie domain acquired from the French govern- 
ment by the V. S. in the same extent and such as it 
existed at the date of the treaty of St. lldefonso, thus, 
sir, rongress und( r color of adjusting land titles in the 
stat(% <S:c., lias given away public ])i'(»j)erty not to the 
needy nor upon ])iinci])les of e(|iia ligation, nor even i)ur- 
suaiit to the fornx'r policy of the Si)anish government, 
who extended its bounty in land to persons profession- 
ally cultivators of the soil (Labradors) in qinintities not 
exceeding 800 ari>ens, (Mpial to about 1 mile square, 
but, to pensons who generally aie loaded with grants or 
contirmations by the former board of Commissioners; 
to i^ersons who thought themselves to be above the pro- 
fession which would have entitled them to land under 
the Spanish government. The act before alluded to is 
also over reaching inasmuch a^s its very litth^ presents 
the idea of a general adjustment of titles whilst in 
reality it is a partial ((Jienerally similar to letter writ- 
ten to Jonathan Roberts,) 

(Conclusion.) Living, as I do, among a large number 
of those jx'rsons that are most deeply intere«sted in 
those claims, 1 beg of you to consider these communica- 
ti(ms as confidential. Knowing your undeviating re- 
gard for the i)ul)lic welfare, I have thought that this in- 
formation would be very acceptable. 

Yours, 

J. B. L. 



206 



St. Louis, 1st December, 1817. 
Jeremiah Moiieau, 

Sir: — Permit me to inform von that greater eff(^rt^^ 
are i»oiii^ to be made tliis year tliau ever to obtain a 
.H<'neral contiriiiation of the hind claims nnch'r i)i*e(<'n('e 
or color of Sjianisii concessions or ord<'rs of surveys. 
Xuiiibci of poisons interested in that way have lately 
left the territory to speml, ais I umlerstand. tlie winter 
at Washiujiton. Althonj;h 1 expect that each of them 
will nriic for their resi)ective claims, vet, no doubt, 
tliei-e will be amongst them a iiener.il understandinj;' to 
assivst each other (lov. Clark is understood to be on his 
way there. I believe that! amonj; the claims he ha» 
some that lemain unconfirmed. I am informed that 
lie has taken cliarge of some belonging to his friends 
which, no doubt, he will endeavor to carry tlirough. 
Probabh' he has some share on interest in it. John 
Scott, the delegate, has given in his electioneering hand 
bills the most explicit assurance that, if elected, he 
Avould support the land claims, which mean ch^arly the 
g<M)d and bad ones without exception, (Indeed 1 don't 
know of a ju^t or equitable one), and to gain ilie uKue 
(«>ntidenc( lie has declareil he hims(df owns several 
of them. Kcdening myself to my former communica- 
tions to you on this i<!ubject, I shall merely add that the 
extent of the e\ils arising from llu^ acts of Congress 
of 1812. authorizing the tiling and entering new claims 
in the office of recorder of land claims, and also arising 
from the act of 1S14 under which so many claims have 
been contirmed are intinitely greater than at tirsl I had 
conception of. That fi'and has so far be«'u successful to 
an alarming degree, and that the interest of the land 
claimants having been increased and strengthened by 
the success already, obtained and the additional number 



207 



of interested persons ari^iuu from subdivisions of claims 
{ind associations of purchasers, Tlie danjj;er of their suc- 
ceeding entirely becomes daily more imminent. 

No doubt but every one of them will make great 
protestations of their love and attachment to the p;ov- 
crnnient of tiie U, S, Several of them possess enga<j;ini; 
manneiis and may be called line fellows. They love the 
republic tenderly. It is for that reason, probably, that 
they are so much in earnest about their claims, that the 
public thiui; be no! only in their hearts but that a part 
of it may als(( fall in their pockets. 

I have never been foriiiven by the land for havinj; 
withstood their coaxings and menaces and done them 
but justice whilst I wais hunl commissioner. They ap- 
pear to have always entertained a strong suspicion that 
my communications at the seat of government were un- 
favorable to them. At last they have imagined that to 
silence me the better this time, they should denounce 
me as a partial jndgc, and what not? I am informed 
that they are circulating now a petition agaimst me. 
They seem to carry on their schemes very secretly. Be- 
fore showing or presenting their ix'tition they ask the 
persons if they are inimical to me and willing to sub- 
scribe anything. If they disclose any scruples, the 
matter is over, no jx'tition is shown. 1 cannot think 
that they are in earnest. Theii object is, in my opinion, 
limited only to put me on the defensive and render my 
standing at Wasliington ecpiivocal, whilst they are in- 
triguing and otherwise endeavoring to have their claims 

confirmed. 

Respectfully, »S:c., 

J. B. C. L. 



208 



Letter to R. Moore, Dated Nov. 29, 1819. 

Your favor of the 21st Febniarv, 1819, informing; me 
of the failure of my claim for compensation was.re- 
ceivt^l. 1 intended to write to you sooner so that n\} 
letter should have reacluMl \\'ashinj>ton at tiie com- 
meuceincut of (he i)resent session, but a lonj;" and 
tedious illness has prevented me from accomplishing; 
that object. 1 am even at this time but weak and 
unable to write myself. 

Alt ho Mr. Scott has attempted to present himself to 
you in tlie character of a man candid enouiih to <lo me 
justice by saying that "NotwithstandiuiLi- he and my- 
self were not friendly, yet he freely confessed that I 
was a faithful otticer and deserved the amount af^ked 
for", nevertheless I am fully satisfied that he was my 
secret opponent and would have sooner seen Penrose <;(» 
uncompensated than to have seen me with him sharing 
the benefits of compensation. 

The serious diffeience which he had with my late son 
riiarles, his JuM-torinu and blnsteiiufj in the commence- 
ment of rhese ditTerences; his shuttling and desertion of 
the high grounds he had taken, which has ended in his 
entire disgrace have so irritated his temper and excited 
his resentment, that he cannot forgive the father for 
having been worsted by the son, therefore I consider 
that this parade of candour and impartiality which he 
has made to you, was only in order to ])reserve your 
esteem and good disposition for another occasion, prob- 
ably for his land claims and I have no doubt but that if 
he had bi'lieved yon iesvs fiiendly to me, he could have 
held quite another language. 

I am contirmed in that opinion from his stating here, 
at his return last spring, to Mr. Penrose that he had lost 
his claim before Conjiress onlv from the circumstance 



209 



of his having- been found in bad company, viz: John 
B. C. Lucas and by adding that a motion would have 
been made to strike out my name for the bill, had not 
the intending mover been anticipated by a motion for 
general postponement made from another quarter of 
the house. This is what has been vstated to me by Mr. 
Penrose under the authority of Mr. Scott. I took the 
liberty to contradict the statement and show Mr. Pen- 
rose a part of my letter, whei-eby it appears that the 
motion for striking out my name wais actually made, 
and that the house thought proper to retain me in the 
company of Mr. Penrose. So much for Mr. Scott's can- 
dour and veracity. 

From the further conversation of Mr, Penrose at 
that time, and the circumstances that have occurred 
since, I am induced to believe that Mr. Scott has ad- 
vised him not to connect his claim any longer with mine 
by petitioning with me, and I have no doubt but that a 
petition will be presented this session for Penrose alone. 
Then Mr. Scott will spare no pains to support Mr. Pen- 
rose's claim. Should lie succeed, he and the land claim- 
ants will find a triumph in that indirect advantage over 
me, for it is beyond doubt that the granting a full com- 
pensation to one commissioner and denying it to the 
other, operates as a severe censure on the latter. 

I, for my part feel disgusted so much at the unmerited 
treatment of last year, that I have no anxiety to petition 
again; nevertheless I should expect from my friends 
and particularly from you, sir, some exertion in case Mr. 
Penrose's claim should be reported favorably, in order 
to have my name introduced into the Keport or Bill. 

Without claiming a particular merit as a land com- 
missioner I think that none of them had ever a better 
claim to a full compensation than myself; the proof of it 



210 



miiilit be (•ollectefl from the general tenor of the opin- 
ions or decisions of the commissioners contained in 
the i>eneral reports and in the special reports for lands 
containing had mines and salt springs, and from the 
particular hali(*<l and vindictive spirit of IMr. Scott as a 
land claimant, and the other Spanish land claimants 
generally. 

Perhaps 1 might be supported in this assertion by Mr. 
Crawford if consulted. 1 have no doubt but that Mr. 
(lalatin would if he was here. As a substitute and 
to (Miablc you to satisfy yourstdf with as little trouble 
as povssible upon that point, I beg leave to refer you to 
the decisions of the Board of Commissioners on Duber- 
que's claim for upwards 140 thousand acres of land 
(and containing the most valuable lead mines of the 
Missouri Terry.) as istated by Mr. Oalatin in the 84 
page of the appendix to the land laws, and his own 
report to the president of the U. S. as Secretary of the 
Treasuiy in the 85 page of the appendix to the same 
book, then you will see which of Mr. Penrose or me at- 
tended best (ui that important occasion to the interests 
of the U. S. From the 2d remark of Mr. Galatin upon 
the same decision in the 86 page of thd appendix to 
the same book it will appear that he considered that 
this decision, \'\'a: the ascertainment by a majority 
of the board of commissioners that Duberque's claim 
was predicated upon a patent or final gi'ant, not only 
was erroneous, but he also une(iuivocally declared ''that 
the form of the concession, if it shall be so called, is 
not that of a i>atent or final grant; and that it was not 
considered as such the commissioners knew, as they 
had previously received a list procured from the records 
at New Orleans and transmitted by the Secretary of the 
Treasury, of all patents issued under the French or 



211 



Spanish governments, in which this was not included, 
and which also shewed the distinction between conces- 
sion and patent or final grant'', thus Mr, Galatin une- 
quivocally charges Mr. Penrose and Donaldson to have 
av«!certained that a certain instrument of writing was a 
Patent or Final Grant, altho they knew it was not. 

I beg of you most earnestly to bestow a few moments 
of your attention upon the 2 and 3 pages last referred 
to in a book called "The Land Laws" in the appendix, 
it will be an epitome of the respective merits of the 
commissioners of the board for land claims in the Mis- 
souri Territory. 

I also beg of you to take notice that a law was passed 
subsequent to this- decision (i. e. in the spring of 1807) 
whereby the president was authorized to form a new 
board of commissioners to revise and correct the de- 
cisions made by the preceding Board of which decisions 
that made in favor of Duberque was one. That Pen- 
rose and myself were members of the 2d board, — that 
when the claim of Duberque came in turn to be revised, 
he absolutely refused to give the opinion which by law 
he was required to do, — that the other commissioners 
did' also refuse, — and myself alone, did comply with 
the requisite of the law by entering again my opinion 
upon the report upon the same claim, — thus the de- 
cision so much censured by Mr. Galatin and which he 
almost called iniquitous, run out untouched and un- 
missed, altho it may have been one of the leading causes 
of the passage of a law directing the revision and cor- 
rection of the decision of the first board. 

Should I be denied a full compensaticm, I shall feel 
myself justified in saying that it is a punishment in- 
flicted thro the agency of the Spanish land claimants, 
for my fidelity to the interests of the U. S. 



212 



From circiimstnnfos wliich I cannot foresee, should 
jon think it «'X]MMli('iit for nie to take an}' new step, be 
pleaised (() advise lue thereof. It is generally under- 
stood that the land olainiants are more confident of suc- 
cess this year than ever, owiu,u' probabh' to the sub- 
division of their interests among influential men. At 
the same time I cannot imagine CongTesis will depart 
from or abandon the principle of the bills reported at 
their last session which sends them to courts of justice, 
there to establish their claims by sometliing more and 
better than fair tales in their mouths. 

(Sig.) JNO. B. C. LUCAS. 



January 5th, 1820. 
Robert Moore, 

I understand that the Spanish land claimants in the 
Miss. Territory are attending Congress in an unusual 
number during the precsent session, — that they are ac- 
companied, by several persons from our part of the 
country in the capacity of agentis. Among those of this 
last description, Thos. 11. Benton the slayer of my son 
Chas. and L. Lawless his friend, whom he has usually 
in his employ as second in his duellings, are the most 
prominent. It is reported that Mr. Benton particu- 
larly is to have a considerable share in a great many of 
the claims (some say one-fourth) for his industry and 
influence. If he succeeds hiis fortune will be colossal 
and he will not fail to make his wealth subservient to 
his political aggrandizement, for he has an eye upon 
everything at once. His ambiti(tu is as unbounded as 
his cupidity an<l the moment that we become a estate, 
the highest oflice in it will be the immediate object of 
his pursuit. 

213 



Altlio lio iis miicli hated at St. Louis, be is still more 
feared aud from this circumstance he bears the appear- 
auce of having some friends around him. At the same 
time, I am well satisfied that he is openly abhorred by 
the people who are not jn immediate contact with him, 
aud by the farmers in general. It would, indeed, be a 
public calamity' if such a flagitious being should suc- 
ceed in his punsuits of wealth and power. 

Benton, as editor of a i)aper at St. Louis, has pub- 
lished in the course of the summer, various pieces in 
support of the Spanish claims and in vindication of 
the official conduct of the former Spanish comma udaut 
at' St. Louis, which, altho he and the land claimants 
may think otherwise, contains neither truth nor argu- 
ment. I find that tlie land ( laimants in general have so 
little confidence in the merits of their claims that sev- 
eral of the best informed among them have declared 
lately that altho they have waited these fifteen years 
for the confirmation of their claims, they would wait 
fifteen years more sooner than to have their claims sent 
to a court of justice for adjudication, and if I was my- 
self a land claimant I should agree perfectly with them 
for I am fully convinced that they can not undergo a 
judicial scrutiny upon various essential points, there- 
fore, provided Congress pursues the course pointed out 
by the two bills reported on the same subject last year, 
(i. e. abstain from legislating on their tales and send 
them to courts of justice, the only constitutional tribu- 
nal where their rights under the treaty ought to be 
ascertained) the interests of tlie U. S. will be safe and 
at the same time no ])lausible grounds of complaint can 
be urged by them. Indeed, their mouths must be shut. 

No doubt they will lie on their oam and watch a 
favorable opportunity to call up the bill reported by 



214 



Mr. Robertson at tlie session before the hist, for it is 
ou that bill that they ground all their hopes. I have on 
a former occasion submitted to von my written observa- 
tions on that bill. I need not to repeat them. Its 
dangerous tendency is sutticiently obvious. 

Besides this formidable column of speculators in pres- 
ent attendance at Washington with the governor at 
their head, which had been formed so secretly that none 
understood tliat any of them had gone to \Yashington, 
there are some stragglers who are in pursuit of their 
interest at ^A'ashington on a smaller scale and who 
ought to be also not less closely- watched. Permit me 
to bring one of them into 3'our notice. 

James Mackaj^, formerly a petty commandant under 
the Spanish government of a small post in the now 
Miss. Terry, has presented a petition to the House of 
Representatives at the session before the last and hav- 
ing supported it with an aboundance of affidavits, has 
succeeded in making before Congress a fair case out of 
what I believe to be a foul one — in so much that a law 
has passed in his favor on the last day of that session, 
(most probably it could not have passed on any other 
day) by which he was enabled to have a claim which he 
never 'lad before presented for record, referred to the 
Recorder of Land Titles to make report thereon, upon 
the same principles and in the same manner as if it had 
been entered on record before the passage of the act of 
Congress of the 12th of April. 1814, concerning land in 
the state of Louisiana and territory of Missouri. 

I am informed that a report in pursuance of that law 
has been made and was before Congress at the last 
session, but was not acted upon. This disappointment, 
far from discouraging Mackay, seems to have created a 
new excitement in him. I am crediblv informed that he 



215 



has dispatched Lawless, his former ageut, to Wash- 
ington, to have another petition presented during the 
present session for anotlier ehiim to land, which is pre- 
cisely- in the same jjredicament a8 the preceding one, 
i. e., that it never was recorded in the office of the re- 
corder of land titles. The two tracts thus claimed are 
contiguous to each other, within 5 or 6 miles from St. 
Louis. It i8 thought that the first tract claimed! is 
worth about 25000 dollars. Probably the second is not 
worth lesis. 

I give it as my decided opinion that the claims of 
Mackay ought not to be confirmed. 1st, because none 
but claims entered on record at the time of the passage 
of the act of 1814 are within the purview of the same 
act. (For the sequel, see 3d page following.) 

2d, because the same act having abandoned the lead- 
ing principles which govern and secure the right of the 
U. S. to the former Spanish Royal Domain in Louisiana, 
ought not to be cherished and extended beyond the act 
itself. 

3d, Because the concession of Lena Trudeau for the 
first tract claimed, and Carlos Dehault Delasue for the 
second, both formerly Si)anish commandants at St. 
Louis, 1 say because the two concessions are not duly 
registered on a Spanish Registry and that there is no 
check against antedating, forging or any other specious- 
ness. 

1th, because the survey being made in 1803 in the fall, 
or 1804 in the spring by a surveyor reputed acting under 
the Spanish government, the same government could 
not at that time duly authorize a surveyor in as much as 
it had 3 years before parted with the right of domain 
and that right was at that time either in the govern- 
ment of U. S. or in the government of France. 



216 



5tli, beside the survey was not made by a duly au- 
thorized surveyor, uor in the uieauiuji; and intent of 
the Spaniish government as appears by an official letter 
of the intendant, dated in 1802 infoiiuin.n the ai)i)lieanth 
in this i)art of the province that the land office was shut 
for want of an assessor, and there is no evidence that 
it was ever opened again. 

(Jth, because the land claimed was not inhabited and 
cultivated at au}' time, and without cultivation the 
grant wanted a consideration, — cultivation being a con- 
dition precedential in the Spanish law, 

7th, because the bo<dc or reputed book of survey, kept 
under the Spanish government otters strong evidence of 
fraud, especially in the latter times, the plats contained 
in the same having been in several instances, altered, 
whole ])ages having been cut out and others glued in 
their place. 

8th, and lastly, because the Spanish surveyor, if such 
an one existed (legally) from the moment it became no- 
torious that the ceission of the Louisiana had been made 
by France to the U. S. ceased to be resi)oniSible to his 
s(tvereign for his acts concerning public land without 
becoming res])i)iisible to the IT. S. and in reality there 
was no connection between the two governments, as 
the U. S. had received the province from the French 
government the taking possession of New Orleans being 
in principle taking possession of the whole province. 



January 15th, 1820. 
Uobt. Moore, 

(An abstract of the above letter to Mr. Lowndes, with 
this addition, viz : You will oblige me much if you can 

217 



make it convenient to send me the bills or any docu- 
ments relative to the land clainus or other local con- 
cerns.) 

JNO. B. C. LUCAS. 



St. Louis, December 1st, 1820. 
Robt. Moore, 

(Invite him to write to me soon; to alarm his friends^ 
watch Benton; vsee the President and ascertain what are 
my prospects for appointment of judge. 

Respectfully, 



St. Louis, Jany. 18, 1821. 
Robt. Moore, 

Dear Sir: — My expe<tations of being able to go to 
Washington this winter have long since vanished. Very 
little time after my letter to you of the 2Tth October, I 
caught a cold which partly for want of due care, has 
become violent and most obstinate. 1 am at this mo- 
ment weak and reduced, 1 had the pleasure to write 
to you a short letter on the 1st of December last. I 
have not as yet received any from you, however 1 hope 
that you will not leave Washington without favoring 
me Avith a few lines. We are, as yet, ignorant here of 
the fate which the resolution of the Senate with a re- 
serve for the admission of the state of Missouri has met 
with in the House of Representatives. Be it what it 
may, certain it is that the question is merel}' political, 
and when any civil question will come before a court of 
justice under that part of the Constitution thus pro- 
tested against, the reserve or exception if it would take 
place in both houses never would be taken notice of, 
thus this reserve is a mete ceremony without any sub- 

218 



stance^ and of ronrse cannot cure or atone for the 
alleged repujinancy. General Leacock, liaving reached 
the extreme point in explorinj; the i»round between 
\\'heelin«»- and the Misisissippi, crossed the river few 
weeks past I had the i)leasure of liavini:; him one tiip;ht 
at my hou^<e. I coul<l not persuade him to stay any 
longer. He was afraid to be detained longer than he 
would wish, from the increase <tf the drift ice in the 
Mississippi. 

The recent refusal by the House of Representatives 
to admit us in the union, has given rise to a free ex- 
l)resision of seutimentvs liere. ^lany would be willing 
to return under a territorial government; others are 
desirious to have the constitution amended in its ob- 
jectionable parts in order to be admittwl into the Union 
as soon as ])ossible, and in the mean time preserve all 
fiiendly rehition.^ with the U. 8. so that they may pro- 
tect their territory, property and other rights in the 
vState of Missouri in the same manner as they did from 
the time the people of Missouri have first exercised the 
sovereign powers as state until they presented their 
constitution to Congress for admission. I am in favor 
of the course last pointed, and 1 believe a majority also. 

We have a set of choice sj)irits who are openly in 
favor of setting general government at defiance by hav- 
ing the constitution unamended and exercising the 
powers of a state although non-admitted, until Congress 
will reconsider their vote and admit us. Senator Bar- 
ton and many others high in oflSce are for taking that 
high ground. 

A change in the ]>ublic opinion is sensibly taking 
place. Those that were the leading members of the 
convention are losing ground. The constitution has 
not met with public approbation. I was pretty evinced 



219 



by the proposal made in both houses of the general 
assembly of a. great number of amendments which 
were supported by a majority of two-thirds of both 
houses, but at last they were bafHed by a well drilled 
minority who succeeded in persuading a number of 
those in favor of the amendment that two-thirds of the 
members present did not form the constitutional num- 
ber to pro])ose amendments, but two-thirdis of all the 
members elected were necessary. The constitution of 
Missouri is on that point perfectly similar to that of 
the U. S. 

From this circumstance you may guess what kind of 
men compose our legislature. 

Respectfully yours, &c., 



St. Louis, February 10th, 1821. 
Robt. Moore, 

My dear sir: — Your favor of the 28th of December 
was received a few hours after I had put at the office 
my letter to you of January 18th. Judging that Mr. 
Penrose felt as much disgust as I did at the repeated 

for the full compensatiou which we had met witli in 

the Congress, 1 had not the least idea that he would 
make a new application; if I had I think I should have 
requested you not to interfere for me, but as it is 1 can- 
not but give you my most sincere thanks. T heard 
yesterday somebody say that he had seen in the papers 
a report in favor of our claims. After so many vain 
trials, I have now very little hope of success, and 1 
hate nothing more than to be considered as being im 
portunate and wanting a due share of pride. I hardly 
think the senators elect of Missouri and representatives 

220 



\vill (Ijiip t(i o])])(ts(' niY claim particulai'lv on acroimt of 
Peiii'otsc \vli(( is ill the ^^.I'catcst distress. 

I hopo lliis letter will reaeli V(m before you leave the 
city. 

Could you believe that senator Renton is so ostenta- 
tious and windy as to have taken four horses and two 
waiters with him for his journey from St. I.ouis to 
\Vasliinj>lon. At the same time the house he lives in, 
rhe only one he has, is mortjiaged for |2,000, and one 
we(dv after he left St. Louis, several noteis of his were 
protested at the bank. 

A general diseont(Mit prevails against the makers of 
the state constitution. It is loudly expressed. If the 
amended resolution of the Senate is not adopted in the 
House of Representatives, the state will be obliged to 
call another convention in which ease it is most jn'ob- 
able that the constitntion will be materially changed, 
as characters of a way of thinking quite different from 
those that composed the first convention will most prob- 
ably be elected. 

Respectfully yours, 



St. Louis, Feby. 5, 1825. 
Robt. Moore. 

Dear Sir: — Although I had no int(M'course with you 
this ^reat while, I have iieveil lieless thought and made 
eiKpiiries about you as (d'teii as 1 could meet an oppor- 
1 unity. The zeal which to my own knowledge you have 
evim-efl for the public service. The reliance which I am 
l)eisiia(le(] you have placed in my communications and 
the earnest eiideavoi-s yon have used to procure me an 
ade(|uate comi)ensatioii as Lan<l Commissioner though 
without success, entitles you to my perfect respect and 

221 



gratitude. I presume you have lost sight and perhaps 
the recollection of the great struggle of the French and 
Spanish land claimants to obtain surreptitiously the 
passage of a law apparently innocent and harmless but 
overreaching and materially injurious in its consequen- 
ces to the interest of the U. S. I have not been less 
remiss since you ceased to be in Cong, than before, in 
endeavors to alarm and guard several members of Con- 
gress from the wiles of the land claimants. You have 
probably noti(c<l that an act was past at the last vses- 
sion of Cong, by which they are brought to the sad 
necessity of instituting suits before the District Court 
of the U. S. for Missouii to tiy the validity of their 
claims or be barred in case they should not commence 
suit within two years. I hope you will remember that 
this is precisely what I wished from the beginning and 
suggested ought to be done, and also that the claim- 
ants had an insuperable objection to such a course. At 
last they have been brought to the bull ring. 

I was requested at the 1st session of the court under 
that act by the District Judge and District Attorney 
to take part in argument upon demuirer in one of the 
leading cases and spoke on that occasion during one day 
and a half. This circumstance has opened anew the old 
sore. The claimants labor under a new paroxism of 
wrath against me. 

Yours, &c., 



St. Louis, Feby. 10th, 1817. 
Robt. Patterson, 

Sir: — I have received information by letter dated Col- 
lector's Office, Port of Philadeli)hia, 24th of December 
last, that I was to receive one box Laws of the United 
States, consigned to Kobt. Pattereon, Pittsburgh. You 

222 



will oblige me in sending the same to me at St. Louis. 
Should you be in want of opportunitiffs to that place, 
probably Messrs. Beeten and Roster will enable you 
to find uie. Perhaps you might hear ctf Charles I..ueas 
being in Pitlsburgh. If you find him there you will 
be pleas(Ml to deliver him the box and give him the bill 
i)f your charges. Sir, 1 am, 

Kespectfully yours, 

J. B. C. L. 



Chas. Penrose, 

(Letter to, in answer to his of the 28th October, 1819, 
stating that I was sick and unable to write and obliged 
to get \\\n. to do it for nu\ Apologizing for not answer- 
ing it sooner, &c., &c., 

(Sig.) WM. LUCAS. 



St. Louis, 19th, 1818. 
Joseph Pentecost, 

Sir: — After I had the pleasure of seeing you at the 
city of Washington, last March, my son James whom 
you saw tli('i"(^ wrote to nu' frcuu Litchfield where I had 
allowed him tn stop a f«'w days with his brother Wm. 
who is there reading laws, to ])ermit him not to go 
further and study at an academy in the neighborhood 
of Litchfield. His brother united with iiim in the re- 
<)uest and 1 consented, but lii,^ brother, that place, is in 
a short time t(» return to St. Louis, and from other con- 
sideraiious I have been induced to seu<l him to Salis- 
bury Academy, as on your advice I first intended to do. 
I have received from him a week or two vsince, inform- 
ing that he is now at that place and had the pleasure to 
form an acquaintance with your son. 

223 



Being under some apprehension that my son James 
might not make the best use of his time, and thereb.v 
miss the ojjportunty of receiving a complete classic edu- 
cation, and much preferring that he should be a good 
mechanic or anything eLse than a bad scholar, I there- 
fore beg leave to request you to take the trouble to 
ascertain b}^ your son or other persons whom you ma}' 
know there Avliat is the general conduct of James; 
whether he is studious; what progress he makes; wliat 
class he is in; how long it is probable he will have to 
stay at tlie academy before he be admitted in a Col- 
lege? Your son or any person else may be assured that 
James never .<liall know from whom I may receive in- 
formation concerning him. I know he will be very apt 
to gain the affection of yctur son. From this circum 
stance your son may not be inclined to state hi8 faults 
in the full extent. If you have no other persim than 
.your son to obtain the information requested, perhaps 
it would be better to nuike the inquiries carelessly and 
indirecth' so as not to let room for suspicion that you 
are requested to do by me. 

If you are ac(iuainted witli any person at Salisbury 
will you be so good as to give me their name and men- 
tion mine to them. 

I hope, sir, you will favor me with answer as soon as 
convenient, I am, 

Respectfully yours, 

J. B. C. L. 



1300. 1300. 

Joseph Philipson, 

Sir: — At three days sight of this first exchange, the 
second of the same tenor not being paid to Joseph 
Philipson or order the isum of three hundred dollars for 

224 



value received, which is due to me for one quarter of 
my salaries as one of the judp's of the superior court 
of the territory of Missouri, the said quarter (•oiuiiiciic- 
in^ on the Isl (hiy of October hist i^ast and eudinj; on 
the hust (hiy of December last paist, St. Louis, March the 
tenth, 1817. 

J. B. C. L. 
The Ilonorabh' Sccretarv of the TTnited States. 



T ^ ry ^ July 27, 1823. 

Justus Post, • 

In ansAver to letter 20th of July, 1823, I state that 1 
am not competent to judj^e of propriet}^ of his applying 
for the office of Surveyor General. He knows best the 
weight and influence of his friends. 

I entertain no doubts of his (jualificatious, and will 
do what little I can for him, &c. 



January 1st, 1819. 
B. Pratt, 

Sir: — Altho the r-opy of the letter of Bitcherd Smith, 
the Caishier of the Branch U. S. Bank at Washington 
in aiisw(>r to that of Mr. Ooford concerning certain 
part of my salaries as a Judge together with a copy of 
my own letter to the same B. Smith which is here en- 
closed, might give you isome idea of the explanation 
which I liMpicst yoii lo ask of B. Smith. Nevertheless, 
in order to assist your recollection on the i)articular 
enipiiry which i« to be made, 1 shall briefly' state to you 
that having never received but two drafts for 300 dol- 
lars each on the P.ank of ^Missouri for my salaries due 
as a judge from the If^t of Oct., 1S18, until the present 

time, (viz: one draft dated 

and another dated ) iudubit- 

225 



ability the quarters due on the 1st day of January, 
1819, 21st of April, 1819, remain unpaid. For the 
amount of the first of these two I am well satisfied I 
am credited at the Bank U. S. and it is from the per- 
suasion that I have the other day given you my draft 
on the Bank U. S. for 300 dollars. 

It remains now to be ascertained whether the quar- 
ter due on the 1st of April has been also credited to me 
at the Bank U. S. and in case that the draft which I 
now deliver you for three hundred dollars on the cashier 
of the Bank U. S. will enable you to receive it. The 
uncertainty which I am placed in on that point in- 
duces me to deliver you this draft with the view only 
to enable you to receive that sum if there credited to 
me. Therefore, my understandini; is that you will not 
negotiate that draft nor have any protest made, but 
will simply return it to me. As R. Smith has men- 
tioned in his letter that he has sent me three drafts, 
and yet has only mentioned the date of two since the 
1st of Oct., if upon a closer examination on his part 
he should still reassert that he has sent me three, you 
Avill oblige me by asking him the date of the one he 
has omitted, and ascertain at the same time, in the 
treasurer's office, how many quarters have been paid 
to my attorney for my salaries due since the 1st of 
Oct., 1818, together with their several dates. 

Having received but two drafts on the Missouri Bank, 
as I said before, one must have been lost or miscarried 
long ago as I presume it is dated in the beginning of 
April, and in this case, whilst you are there, I wish you 
would make a declaration in my name, that I have 
never received but two dated as above, and that the 
one lost may be made good to me by some means. 

(Sig.) JNO. B. C. LUCAS. 



226 



Jany. 1st, 1820. 
J. Randolph, 

Sir: — So many gentlemen of my acquaintance are 
retiriniLi' or have ictired from the national councils 
either by choice, iiitirmitieis, or death, that 1 feel a 
doubh' ph'asnre in finding tliat you have resumed a 
seat in the House of Kepresentatives. Your huig par- 
liamentary experience has no doubt long ago enabled 
you to notice that whilst one or two of the mosti 
proniineut subjects of legislature at every session seems 
to engage the attention of every member of congress 
so much so that the speakens on those occasions stand 
as it were, in the way of each other, and the debates 
become almost endless. There are other subjects by 
no means unimportant altho perhaps less entertaining 
or less attracting the public attention, which are little 
or not at all understood by a great many and whose fate 
often depends upon such report as the committee to 
whom the subject is referred may think proper to make. 

From the intimate knowledge which, as a former 
land coniniissionei- of the Terry, of Missouri, I have ob- 
tained of the S]»anish claims to land in the former Pro- 
vince of Louisiana, the laws and usages under which 
the Spanish government distributed to their colonists, 
I am pretty well satisrted that great errors have been 
comniitteeil in legislation which have produced the 
most ruinous conse<iuences to the U. S. and enable, at 
present, the Spanish land claimants to argue in favor 
of that part of their claims which remain uncontirnuM:! 
and not, indeed, from the intrinsic merits of them, for 
they possess none, neither in law or equity but fntm the 
aberrations from principle or improper concessions con- 
tained in the act of Congress of the 12 of April, 1814, 
which they don't fail to urge as a principle and which 



9.9: 



affords theni the opportunity to ar<iue a pori with some 
speeiousness. 

Knowing- perfectly that you are induced to serye your 
country from much higher motiyes than the mere dis- 
play or show of usefulness,! beg leaye to lay before some 
])articulars in order that you may be the better enabled 
to meet those Spanish claimants in the course of the 
present session. If we are to judge irom the number of 
persons interested in these claims that liaye left St. 
Louis to attend the present Congress, \ye would be in- 
duced to believe that they are more .sanguine of success 
than they haye been before. Probably the subdiyisions 
which they haye made of late date by sale of their 
largest claims amongst influential men of the West is 
what makes them so confident. 

In turning to the files of the House of Representa- 
tives you will find that there is two or three bills re- 
ported concerning those claims, which have not been 
finally acted' upon. The first of them was reported 
during the session before the last. I was then at Wash- 
ington. The house was timely alarmed. The bill 
whose consequences would have been ruinous to the 
U. S. was seen under its proper colors. Its few friends 
became so sensible of the fate that awaited it, that 
they adopted a most extraordinary course by moving 
the reference of the whole feubject-matter of the bill 
to the Secy, of the Treasury. This happened near the 
close of the session. 

In pursuance of that reference I am informed that the 
Secy, made a report during the last session of a bill 
whose governing principle is that the Spanish land 
claimants, under some regulations should be sent to 
courts of justice and stand there on a level with the 
V. S. on the score of these claims. I am likewise in- 



22S 



fornipd that the committee oni public lands also re- 
]K)rtc(l a bill piinsiiiu^- the same pniiciples. The laml 
claiinants, except a voiy few wliOwse claims are for lead 
mines or salt springs, which are contained in a special 
report, knowing-, perfectly, that these claims cannot 
bear jndicial scrutiny have used their best endeavors 
to keep back thoise bills, and I am credibly informed 
that they dread so much to have their rights ascer- 
tained, under the treaty with France, before a constitu- 
tional tribunal that some of the best informed amongst 
them have declared that altho their present claims have 
remained for fifteen years undecided, the}' would be 
willing to wait tifteen years longer, sooner than to have 
their claims sent to a court of justice. Thus there is 
no doubt with me but that they will lie on their oars 
and never will press their bill upon the house, but when 
the alarm will have subsided or when they will tind 
tlie house so thin and so composed ais to afford them fair 
hopes of carrying thro their first bill, I don't know by 
what means remains, as I am informed, amongst the 
unfinished business. In order to convince j'ou of the 
dangerous ground which the U. J^. are placed upon by 
the act of the 12 of April, 1814, 1 shall submit to you a 
few remarks upon that act and the manner in which 
it has been made to operate in the Territory of Mis- 
souri, and also upon the bill which hatS been reported 
at the session before the last, whose object is to ex- 
tend the provisions of the act of 1814 to all the claims 
uncontiinied and of course not embraced by the said 
act, and to open the ofiice of the recorder of land titles 
for the oiil< ry of new claims. That is the favorite bill 
of the land claimants and their best hopes. 

In turning to the first act of legislature on the sub- 
ject of the adjustment of land claims in the former 



229 



Province of Louivsiana of the 2d March, 1805, you will 
perceive in the first section of the same a minute detail 
of the various requisites warrant or order of survey by 
the proper officer under the authoritie.s respectively 
of the French and Spanish governments to have a legal 
effect. This section, cautions and particular as it is, 
does not require from any land claimants more than 
the French or Spanish laws and Uvsages did. The Board 
of Commissioners, (of which I was one) that acted un- 
der the law measuring the claims by the legal re- 
quisites, found generally the claims running far short 
of those requisitevs. They met with unexpected difficul- 
tites — the loud complaintis of the land claimants and 
the apparent excitement of their feelings on the occa- 
sion of certain decisions, induced the Board to inform 
the Secy, of the Treasury of the state of things. This 
information was probably the cauvse of another act on 
the same subject of tlie third of March, 1807, which by 
its first section repeals one of the re<iuisites to the war 
rants or orders of survey, and by the 2nd section grants 
to any land claimant a tract of land not exceeding 
2000 acres on the mere possession of ten consecutive 
3^ears, excepting, however, from the effect of that pro- 
vision any land containing lead mines or salt springs, 
and to obviate any further complaint about the re- 
(juisites contained in the preceding act so far as they 
relate to claims not exceeding a league square, the com- 
missioners are authorized by the 4th section of the same 
act to decide on the claims in the Territories of Orleanw 
and Louisiana, according to the French and Spanish 
laws, usages and customs, any tract of land not exceed- 
ing the quantity contained in a league s(]uare. The 8th 
section of the same act provides that the commissioners 
shall respectively report to the Secy, of the Treasury, 



230 



their opinioius on nil cliiinis to land in tlioir rospoctive 
districts, which they shall not have finally confirnuMl nn- 
der the authority of the fourth section of this act. 
Many clainus were finally confirmed under the 4th sec- 
tion. I don't rcMollecf the number, it may be ascer- 
tained at the ^(MH'ral land office. The claims reported 
by the commissioners to the Sec^. of the Treastiry under 
the 8th section, were, I believe, not less than 2000. 
They formed but one class, altho the same section pro- 
vides for three classes, because they were all of the 
sam,e description and did not come up to what might 
be suppovsed was the expectations of the legislature 
were, whereby the 8th section it was required that they 
should be put under three general classes. 

Turning again to the several acts since passed on the 
same subject, viz: 10th March, 1812; 14th April, 1812; 
June 13th, 1812; February 27th, 1813; 3d March, 1813 
and 2iid August, 1813, it will be seen that the first 
October, 1800 (the date of the treaty of St. Iladefonso) 
had never ceased to be the ex])ress turn of the power of 
Spain to dispose or alienate any part of the royal do- 
main in the Province of Louisiana. This principle 
cleai'ly established by the treaty had remained whole 
and safe from the beginning of the legislation of Con- 
gress (viz: 2d March, 180.')) until the 2d (tf August, 1811), 
inclusively, when by the act of the 12th of April, 1814, 
entitled "An Act for the Final AdjUvStment of Land 
Titles in the State of Louisiana and Territory of Mis- 
souri". Congress has made the most dangerous inroads 
on the vital rights of the U. S. in the former Spanish 
Koyal Domains. By the above mentioned act the preten- 
sions or power of the officers of the French or Spanish 
Governments of granting or giving away the royal do- 
main after the 1st of October 1800 (the date of the 



231 



Treaty of St. lldepoiiso) and especially in the Missouri 
Territory until the lOtli day of March, 1804, has been 
acknowled«;ed so that the pretended gTants of land 
made by the Spanish commandants at St. Louis in quan- 
tities not exceedinj; a leajj^ue square for and during 
mjore than three years after Spain had parted with the 
right of domain have become obligatory on the U. S. 
This proistration of principle has been caused to such an 
extravagant degree as to legalize in the Territory of 
Missouri the grants made by the Spanish commandant 
during three months after the U. S. had taken formal 
possession of the Province of Louisiana, altho his 
sovereign had ceased in right and fact to exercise any 
power or jurisdiction in tli<' jtrovincc, and he the com- 
mandant was under no kind of responsibility, then, 
neither to his sovereign nor to the U. S. Let it be re- 
marked that the Spanish land office for the Province 
of Louisiana had been closed seveml years before. 
That the power of granting land had by a royal ordi- 
nance made at St. Lorenzo in 1798 been taken from the 
government and transferred to the intendaut as fiscal 
concerns, and that the intendant (nau Ventura Morales) 
had by his r(\iiulations ])ubliished in July, 1797, ex- 
pressly retained the exclusive power of distributing or 
granting land and had only vested in the commandants 
of posts the power or duty to state on the margins of 
the petitions of the colonists for grants of land, these 
circumstances, such as the number of their family, 
whether they were tillers of the soil (Labradors) and 
possessed the other requisites specified in the regula- 
tions. I have always thought that the construction put 
upon that act by the recorder of land titles for the ter 
ritory of Missouri was not correct, at the same time 
let it not be supposed that I impeach his uprightness. 



232 



I have always viewed liiiii a^ an honest man. Suffice 
it to say that the report of his opinions in favor of the 
claims, whicli he has deemed to be embraced by the 
same act, has been confirmed in lots by an act of (\jn- 
i-ress of the 21) of April, ISKI. and thereby the rij>ht to 
^reat deal of Ihe moist valuable lands is finally parted 
with in favor of persons who were already loaded with 
l)revious j^rants or confirmations to a considerable 
amount and in favor of others who b}^ the Spanish laws 
and usai^cs were not at any time entitled to any confir- 
mation or lirant. 

I am so exhausted by a fornu'i- sickness and a re- 
lapse that 1 am constrained to continue this letter by 
the assistance of one of my sons. Their dangerous 
aiirandizenu'nt and increase of wealth has also increased 
their pretensions. Now their avowed object is to have 
these aberrations or prostrations of principle of the 
act of 1814 extended to all other claims remaining- un- 
confirmed. 

Admitting for a moment that the Spanish authori- 
ties could have issued warrants or orders of survey 
after the date of the treaty of St, lUlefonso, it would be 
necessary that they should have issued by the proper- 
authority, and the Spanish c(unniandaut at St. Louis 
had ceased to be the i)roper olficer by the ordinance of 
St. Lorenzo. It would also be necessary that the other 
requisites of the Spanish laws and usages should be 
comi)li(Ml with. As the highest evidence that C L). 
Delaras who was the Spanish Commandant at St. Louis 
from 171)9 until the U. S. to(dv jxtssession of Louisiana, 
kyew himself that he had not the right to grant land. 
I state that 1 had the perusal of two documents under 
iiis own handwriting dated some time in Oct., 1800, 
which were in answer to applications to him for grants 



233 



of land, to the followinc^ purport: "It is now out of 
my power to issue couces.sious or orders of survey, this 
power beh)ui»in«i; exclusively to the iutendant. The 
most 1 can do for you is to make the most favorable 
statement of facts in my power, concerning your (juali- 
ficatioiis to receive a orant.'' 

This is, liow«'ver, the office where concessions (of a 
date subseciuent to these documents) for leagues square 
have .since been reported favorably by the recorder of 
land title,s and confirmed by Congress. This is, indeed, 
the officer whose unconfirmed conceptions are laid up in 
store in the hands of his former favorites and friends, 
waiting for the opening of the office of the recorder of 
land titles for entry. 

Notwithstanding the abundance of matter, I shall 
conclude having already too much fatigued your at- 
tention. At the same time I purpose to present to you, 
soon, another view of the subject tliat you may be satis- 
fied by a multiplicity of means that the boisterous land 
claimants of, at least, Missouri Territory are far from 
standing on a par as to speciousness or appearance of 
legality of claim, with the former Yazoo land claim- 
ants, altho they are certainly not behind them in fraud 
and corruption. There was a time when the original 
Spanish hnnl claimants, who are certainly far inferior 
in point of management and intrigue to our own 
American speculators, had been put out of conceit of 
their colossal claims by the powers of the Americans 
in general who lived at St. Louis, but having called in, 
with others, several of those same Americans to show 
with th(^se upon terms which fully! indicated their 
despair — their hopes are revivwl and not a few of our 
Americans have resented and now praise more loudly 
than anybody else, the claims which they once declared 
to be iniquitous. 

234 



TTavino as a land rommissionor boen porliaps the l<\ist 
favorable t(» land claiiiiants, of counse, I have become 
(he most odious. This odiuiii ha.s increased from the^ 
diwapnointment of the «;ieat<'r part of the claimants who 
are of a French orij^in, and who, of course, expected 
more kindness from me than from the other commis- 
sioners. Many of these ^ood people^ have acted honor- 
ably amourist themselves, but i)erhaps never hon(\stly 
with their sovereign. They cannot reconcile with the 
idea that, with me, the interests of the U. S. shotild not 
give way to theirs. 

You will see at Washiuuton, this winter, several 
Americans who have become interested in the Spanish 
land claims. 1 am not less obnoxious to them than 
to the French. They suspect me to be active against 
them at Washiniiton. Mr. Scott, the delegate of the 
territory is one of them and his community of in- 
terest with the Spanish land claimants has been a 
recommendation to him for the situation he now tills. 
Of coui-Ne he is extremely hostile to me. 

Without being willing to deviate from the independ- 
ent course I have taken with respect to them all, never- 
thtdess I don't wish to gi^ e them new grounds of com- 
plaint, I therefore request of you, sir, to make such 
use of my communication as you may think best, with- 
out mentioning my name. 

Of one thing you must certainly be satisfied, that if 
1 have n«Jt received a bribe from the U. S. my hands 
must be clean and my motives pure. 

As a specimen of the course I have taken, as a com- 
missioner, T beg leave to refer you to the report of Mr. 
(Jalatiu to the President of the U. S. on Duberque's 
claim, which is contained in the 84th, 85th and 86th 



235 



pages of tbe appendix to the Land Laws, a book digested 
by Mr. Galatin. 

I have tbe honor to be, &c., 

(Sig.) JNO. B. C. LUCAS. 



February 4th, 1820. 
John Jiandolph, 

(Tliis letter is the isubstauce of that part of the letter 
to P. B. Barbour of the 151 h of February, 1820, eom- 
meneing with these words, .viz: "The act of the 12th of 
April, 1814, is the prototype of their favorite bill, re- 
ported I^'ebruary 10th, 1818, with this additional evil, 
&c." and ending with the^e words, viz: "but in truth it 
is nothing but a great superstructure without a basis". 

JNO. B. C. L. 



St. Louis, Jany. 4th, 1824. 
Hon. John Randolph, 

Sir: — Being persuaded that you will receive with 
pleasure any information that may come to you upon 
public subjects, permit me to observe that the people of 
Missouri, having experienced particularly for these 
twelve years pa.st, the great inconvenience resulting 
from the considerable number of the French and 
Spanish land claims within the bounds of that state 
which remain undecided and are in a wild and unculti- 
vated state, forming from their extent great chasms 
in several counties which might be very dangerous in 
case of hostilities with Indians, and are at all times a 
great obstacle to communication and intercourse, the 
legislature of the isame state presented a memorial to the 
Senate and House of Kepresentativcvs of the U. S. some 
time during the last session of congress stating their 

236 



gricvaiurs on that subject aud praying that competent 
tribunals be Cdu.stituted to decide detinitely those un- 
settled claims, so that Ihe laiidN beloiii;iiio to the U, S. 
and those beloiininii lo individuals may be known and 
set ai»ait. It appears tliat thi.s memorial was pre- 
,sented to tlie Senate and was referred to the committee 
on i)ublic hinds in cons(M|nence of which a bill was re- 
ported, I lie inlroductoiy pari of which reads ais fol- 
lows: 

Mr. Benton from the committee on public lands to 
which was referred the memorial of the le<»islature of 
Missouri on the subject reported the followinji bill. 
This bill was reported on Feby. l!)th, 1823, and has 
passed throui;li the Senate with a small amendment. 
It standis anion<i the untinished business of the house 
of representatives. In turninii to that bill yon will 
perceive that it is discrepant from the memorial. This 
one prays for a definitive decision; that one authorizes 
the recorder of land titlcvS, etc., to liive opinions and re- 
port the same to Cong. There is already a r(^])ort made 
by three commissioneis of the written and oral evi- 
dence which has been adduced in support of those 
( lainis, to.ucther with the o])ini(tns of the commissioners 
u])on the same. Those opinions are, with very few ex- 
ceptions, that those claims ou«iht not to be confirmecl 
and the prin(ii)le of refei rem-e to the recorder is noth- 
inji" more than a repetitiiui (d' what has already been 
done. \\'itli this additional incunvenience ami danuer 
that in the last bill all is devolved ni»on one man; that 
no aiicnt is to be ai)pointed on the part (d" the U. S. to 
cross-examine the witnesses or meet the ariiuments of 
the (daimants. 

The report of the three commissioners is lodged in the 
general land office and in my Immble opinion ought not 

237 



to go for less than to inform the consciences of the 
members of Congress so as to induce them to refer those 
claims to the judiciary, and, indeed, it will be found 
tliat a bill adopting that principle has passed the 
Senate during the session before the last. This bill 
is now on the tiles of the house of reprcvsentatives with 
another one containing the same principle which has 
originated in the house of representatives and has not 
been called up. From these it will be seen tluit if Mr. 
Benton had ])aid any regard to the memorial of the 
legislature of Missouri and wished to act consistently 
with the princij)le ad()j>tcd by tlii^ senate tlu^ yeiir be- 
fore on the sjiiue subject, he would have lepiu'ted to the 
Senate that a bill embracing the (»bject of the petition 
had passed the Senate and was bi^fore the house of rep- 
resentatives. He would have stated that a similar bill 
had originated the year before in the house of repre- 
sentatives. In fact, the representative from Missouri 
must certainly have received a similar memorial from 
the Legislature and it unaccountable to me how he has 
left these two bills uncalled for. It is to be lamented 
that Mesvsrs, Benton and Scott evidently attend to the 
interest of the Spanish land claimants in opposition to 
that of the U. S. and of the people of Missouri. The 
land claimants and their agent dread nothing more 
than a fair trial of the Spanish claims before a judicial 
tribunal. They would sooner hang their claims for 
thirty years more and hover during that time about the 
capital in ex])ectation to obtain at some unguarded 
moiiHMils the ])assage of an act suitable to their pur- 
pose. Let me remember you that they are already 
loaded with the muniticence of Congress, particularly 
under the act of the 12th of April, 1S14, entitled "An Act 
for the Final Adjustment of Land Claims". There was 



238 



nothinji final in that act but the words of the title. The 
confidence and inflnence of the land claimants have in- 
creascil wiih their snccess. They will pnisne with 
fresh vii»or dnriuj; this ses^sion, their favoiit*^ object. 
They will uijj;e that there cannot be any inconvenience 
in the reference, in as ninch as Congreiss may or may 
not confirm the opinions of the recorder. 

From the past, Congress may be considered to be a 
mere nominal check. Nothing in my opinion can save 
the U, S. from the grasp of the land clainianls bnt a 
prompt passage of an act, referring their claims to the 
jndiciary with all the points of law« arising nnder them. 
Even this question, viz: how long the Spanish govern- 
ment had the power to dispose of the royal domains? 
Who ^^ere the proper officers to whom the power was 
confided? For any interpretation by Congress will be 
ra'^isted by the land claimants unless it makes for them. 

Yours, 



Jany. 16th, 1821. 
Elias Kector, 

(Letter to, enclosing copy of letter of Taylor Berry to 
Josiah Meigs, Commissioner of Land Office, informing 
that 1 have written to Meigs on same subject, and will 
add further remarks.) 



St. Louis, Feby. 10th, 1821. 
Benjamin H. Reeves, 

Sir: — No doubt you know that Afessrs. (i. B. Sirother 
and Robt. Nash have been announced as candidates for 
Cong. I'loni all 1 can <liscover near and about St. 
Louis, many persons object to both of them, hence there 
is ample room for another. I have also received in- 
formation that the state of opinion is much the same in 

239 



the coimtias south of St. Loiii.s. Indeed I had very en- 
coiira«;iii«; offers of support if I should assent to be 
added to the list of candidates. 

We have liad here an address to the electors of Mis- 
souri publislied in the Missouri Republican of the 19tl» 
ultimo which hais made a considerable sensation. It 
appears Ihat i1 has contributed to make tlie electors of 
this part of the country more anxious to have a greater 
choice of characters for Cong, than they have now. 

1 am not solicitous to be a candidate. Far from it, 
but I coiiicid«^ perfectly with the farmer of the county of 
St. Louis that it is high time for the farmers and all 
others not belonging to the profession of the law to 
claim a standing and influence in the concerns of the 
union and state corresponding to their number, re- 
spectability and usefulness, au<l to be represented more 
truly and substantially than they have been hereto- 
fore. From the opportunity, though small, which I 
had to form an opinion of you, and the standing which 
I am told you enjoy, more particularly in Howard and 
the adjacent counties, I have thought that not only you 
would be a proper person to be a candidate on the score 
of fitness, but also on that of personal popularity. 

I must tell you that this idea lias originated with me, 
but I find that the i)ublic wish is that a respectable 
planter or farmer may offer, and I have thought of no 
one that could be more acceptable than you. I have 
mentioned your name to a few i)ersons, they think as 
1 do. You know better than me how far your neigh- 
bors and the electors in your ])art of the country have 
taken engagements in favor of the candidates that are 
now out, and what the degree of popularity be of your 
success with them. 



240 



I beg- of 3^011 to inform me of your determinations 
not later than the 15th or 20th of March. Withont 
prepossession from the existing dispa^^ition of tlie elec- 
tors in St. Charles Connty, Callaway, Montgomery and 
sonth of the Missouri as far up it as Franklin Connty 
and down the Mississippi as far as New Madrid, I am 
])ersnade(l that the prospects are fair. I\eniember that 
my motives are pure and that I don't demand nor expect 
any favor from you in return for the exertions which I 
shall certainly make if you become a candidate. I am, 

Respectfully, &c., 



December 12, 1819. 
John Rhea, 

So many of my friends are moving or have moved 
from the political scene of action, either by choice, in- 
tirmities or death, that I feel a double pleasure in find- 
ing that you still continue to be a representative in 
Congress. TIk^ great concern which the non ratifica- 
tion of the treaty with Spain will bring before Con- 
gress will probably engross so much of their attention 
as to afford a new hope or encouragement to the 
Spanish land claimants to renew their efforts and in- 
trigues in order to obtain by deception some act per- 
haps not less destructive of the best interests of the 
V. S. than the one wliicli was i)assed on the 12th of 
April, 1S14. It is generally rei)orted (whether they are 
in earneist or not) that they are sanguine, or at least, 
boast that they have before them the fairest prospects 
of success at this present session of Congress. 

I might present to you under a new aspect the in- 
e(piity of their claims and also their total want of 
speciousness or color of legality, but I will not fatigue 

211 



you. I mereh' beg leave to refer you to my former com- 
munications on that subject. 

I know that they place a great reliance on the possi- 
bility of findino- at one time or another the House of 
Representatiyes so thin and uiiuuarded by the casual 
absence of the members best informed on the score of 
their claims and most decidedly opposed to them, to 
take every advantage of the circumstance. 

I also believe that they don't rely less upon their 
intrigues, importunity and the increase of their interest, 
by having retailed out in parcels to influentials in dif- 
ferent parts of the union, by sale or otherwise, their 
specimens and colossal claims. 

Thus, in order to encourage persons to become pur- 
chasers of part of their claims, I discover that they 
never speak of the legality or merits of them, but 
assert prophetically that they will be ultimately con- 
firmed. This word ultimately means nothing else but 
thro the dint of importunity and other means familiar 
to them, — such as to prpss their bill on the house when 
thin and unprepared, or keeping it back when the house 
is ready and prepared to meet it. They may spin out 
the time to the best advantage to themselves. 

I understand that last year a bill was reported by the 
committee on public lands containing the best and 
safest principles, such as ought to have been adopted 
long before now Avith respect to the Spanish land 
claims, r. e., that (by the bill) the Spanish land claimants 
are sent to courts of justi-ce for the investigation and 
ascertainment of their respective merits of their claims, 
the U. S. being thus brot on a level (as parties) with 
the Spanish laml claimants before a court of justice, 
these claimants will be forever precluded from having 
it in their power in case of failure before the court® of 



242 



justice to iiroe any cause specious or well orouiided, 
as the}' have heretofore done, of undue delay or dcuia) 
of justice. It is indeed the only constitutional way oi 
satiwsfving' or putting an end to these claims ap^eeably 
the guarantee of their richtis under the treaty between 
the U. S. and Fiiince, — for the U. S. beiuj;- the i)arty 
upon whom the ( laiiii is made, they have not the i)ower 
by legislation to put an end to these claims, but only 
the power to give away, which has already been a 
great deal too mucli exercised to the amount of millions 
of dollais, ill (luantities quite repugnant to the ordinary 
distribution of land under the colouring system of 
Spain, which was purely agrarian. It is also worthy 
of observation that the claims remaining unconfirmed 
embrace vast tracts of the most valuable land in the 
territory.— tliat great many families coming under the 
discription of actual settlers now protected by the pre- 
scription law, have located themselves upon those 
lands, and that Congress is now under at least a normal 
obligation not to grant with levity and without good 
(•au><(', those lands under the colour of Spanish claims 
when such a couise would go to render negatory the 
imperfect rights of these settlers entitled to prescrip- 
tion nnd ])lace in a «lesi)erate situation and dangerous to 
the country a great number of meritorious persons, 
willing to pay at the rate of two dollars per acre, the 
land which tlie Spanish claimants want to have for 
notliing. I think, for my part, that the only efficient 
way to i)revent the land claimants from reaping a sub- 
stantial advantage from their cant word ultimately, 
the most active friends of the V. S. in the house, and 
most active opponents of these claims, ought to prt^s 
and urge for the passage of the bill which is to send 



243 



them to courts of justice. Let tlie land claimants be 
never so desirous to temporize. 

(Sig.) JNO. B. C. LUCAS. 



St. Louis, Fy. 5. 1825. 
James Riddle, 

Dear Sir: — I had the pleasure of hearino- of you occa- 
sionally since I saw you last. JNIy son Adrian informed 
me that he had received from you the most polite atten- 
tion when he was on his way from Boston to St. Louis. 
For this I feel myself much obliged to you, and I wish 
I may have the opportunity to return the same kind- 
ness to any of your family that may chance to visit St. 
Louis. 

Had it not been for private business which have until 
now required from me a constant attendance I should 
have made before now another tour in the Atlantic 
states. 

I expect, however, to be able to accomplish that ob- 
ject in the course of the next summer. I shall feel a 
particular pleasure in seeing my old friends and ac- 
quaintances at and about Pittsburgh. You will have 
the goodness to give my best compliments to Mrs. 
Riddle and all enquiring friends. 

Respectfully, &c., 



January 11th, 1826. 
Judge James Riddle, 

(Letter to, speaking of argument contained in Pamph- 
let in Soulards case. Sacrifices I have made. Difficul- 
ties. Never swerve. Better to lose popularity than 
abandon principles. Request him to engage good 

214 



farmers and laborers if lie can find' any, to come to 
St. Louis. 1 shall save expense tavern. Give them 
good. Have three farms. The people here lazy, dissi- 
pated, careles.-^. If he can procure hands, they ought to 
come not later than commencement April. I request 
him to give me information.) 



January 1st, 1820. 
Johnathan Roberts, 

(Same as to liobt. Moore of 5th of January, 1820.) 



Oct. 20th, 1820. 
Jonathan Roberts, 

Your favor of the 29th of February was received, like- 
wise another since, which was handed to me by Col. 
Strother. I requested the editor of the Missouri Gazette 
to send you his paper during and since the Missouri 
convention was setting. Of course 1 suppose that there 
is not much use for me to say great yield on our local 
concerns. 

You have seen probably that I was candidate for the 
convention. I did not succeed because being requested 
to declare my sentiments on the subject of slavery, 1 
expressed an opinion that it would be proper to limit 
the importation of vslaves to live years or so from the 
date of the Constitution. The ardent friends of slavei-y 
suspected me besides to be hostile to the principle of 
slavery altogether and contended that I dared not to 
go the whole length of my opinion being against that 
of the public. As I reside in the county of St. Louis, 
where the Spiinish land ( laimants have the most in- 
fluence, I had to encounter their powerful op]»osition 
and thus those two causes acting together, I lost the 

election. 

245 



I consented also to be candidate for the Senate of 
the U. S. My prospects were much fairer because the 
election was not confined to a county, but was again 
uuvsuccessful. Every one seemed to believe that when 
the members first assembled that I had a majority on 
my side, but my opponents havini» many hands at work 
succeeded in liavinj; the election put off from time and 
taking advantage of the want of experience and knowl- 
edge of the world in my friends, succeeded in having 
Barton and Benton elected. This last was elected by a 
majority of one. I was next to him. From the course 
which I have taken with the land claimants, you may 
easily imagine that tliere were no unfair or artificial 
means used on m^' side. Mr. Benton has been in the 
St. Louis Enquirer of which he was the editor and 
elsewhere the indefatigable advocate of the Spanish 
land claimants and had repeatedly denounced them as 
their enemy. I am inform«Hl and fiiinly believe that he 
has a considerable interest in every claim for his 
agency, and nothing is more clear that he owes his 
election to that circumstance; thus the Spanish land 
claimants have succeeded in obtaining a seat in the 
senate to their agent. 

I need not to tell you that this Benton is the very 
ruflfian who killed Charles Lucas, under circumstances 
well known to you. He ^^'as engaged in the affray 
where General Jackson was sliot through the arm 
several years ago. It was he or his brother tiiat did it. 
Various other acts of violence and quarrels placed 
him in such situation that he could not remain any 
longer in the state of Tennessee. He is blood thirsty, 
bold and desperate, yet he can put on an appearance 
of suavity, borrow a language sentimental and exalted. 
Great reliance is placed on him by the land claimants. 



246 



He will make <;ij:fanttc efforts during this session. In 
order to attniii his object lie will be humble, criuginjjj, 
U('('ouini(»da1in<^ or anylliini; whatever. His jiecuniary 
circumstances are desperate. He has supported for 
several jeai-s past an unprofitable jiaper for political 
a«ii>Tandizement. He has lived hi<j;h and expensive for 
the isanie purpose. His all depends on getting his land 
claims contirmed or obtaining by any surreptitious 
means the ])assage of a law that will mediately or im- 
mediately answer his own purposes. As an editor he 
has lavished every possible abuse and contumely on 
the representatives in Congress from the non slave hold- 
ing states. No exertions were wanting on his part 
whilst the Missouri question was under discussion be- 
fore Congress to excite the people of Missouri to adopt 
any rash measures. 

The friends to the best interests of the U. S. in 
Congress ought not to wait passively for the movements 
of the land claimants; they ought to anticipate by 
bringing a bill to enable within a given time the land 
claimants to have the merits of their claims tried in a 
court of justice. Until this is done nothing is safe and 

the possibility remains for land claimants, their 

and supporters to obtain their object towards the end 
of a session or at such other unguarded time. There 
is some probability that I shall go to Washington this 
winter. I should like to be a judge of the D. C. of the 
U. S. for the M. T., not .s<t much with a view to hold that 
office, for I should not incline to continue in that situa- 
tion more than a year or two, but for the purpose of 
proving to my enemies in the Missouri State that my 
services and fidelity to the U. S. are duly appreciated 
at Washinutitn. 



247 



If you think me to be deservinj; that office, be so 
good as to apply to the President without h)ss of time. 
Ii hope that the Secretary of State will be well dis- 
posed towards me. 

Mr, Crawford knows better than any one else how I 
have acted aw land commissioner and what are my 
deserts as such. 

Be so good as to favor me with a few lines as soon as 
you conveniently^ can. 

J. B. C. L. 



St. Louis, December 21st, 1820. 
Jonathan Rober-ts, 

Dear Sir: — Your favor of the Ultli nlto. cume to hand 
b3^ last mail. I am very thankful for the ai)plication 
you have made to the President, Messns. Adams & Craw- 
f(jrd likewise for your promptnesis in giving me the in- 
formation. It sccnus to me that provided a suflticient 
number of members of the Senate be timely apprized 
that I have been for more than fifteen years one of 
the superior judges in the territoi-y of Missouri and 
that I have given a general satisfaction; that the only 
persons who complain of me are Spanish land claim- 
ants, merely because I have not been able as land com- 
missioner to satisfy their rapaciousness and been 
obliged from an imperious sense of duty to report 
against their large claims. That Mr. Scott is himself a 
land claimant; that Mr. Benton has acted as counsel 
and agent of the laud claimants, and these last have 
given Benton and Scott all their support to be elected. 
In fact, that the land claimants have succeeded in se- 
curing to their friends and partners seats both in the 
Senate and House of Representatives of the U. S. 1 
say that provided these things be understood, the oppo- 

218 



sitiou of siioli men must be of little or no effect. The 
whole matter revolves into thevSe: Is a faithful officer 
to be sacrificed to the resentment of fraudulent and 
rapaciouis land claimants for liavin"' had the courage 
to do ids duty without re<;ard t<» bribe, threats au(i 
persecution? 1 think that amonji, the members in the 
Senate, Messrs. Dickerson, Kugj^les, Macon, Stokes, 
King and Barbour have vsome knowledge of my public 
character. You would confer me a particular favor in 
preusenting them a full view of my situation in conse- 
quence of having been a land commissioner. Mr. Lea- 
cock was at St. LouivS last week. He stayed (me night 
at my house. He would probably have stayed longer 
had it not been for his apprehension of tiie Mississippi 
becoming impas^sable by the increaise of drift ice. 1 
just now hear tliat there is a letter in t(»wn from Mr. 
Scott, stating that Mr. Lowndes and other friends to 
the Missouri question of last year liave objections to 
the constitution of the state^ of Missouri and of course 
will not be, as matters stand, in favor of its admission 
into the Union. The si^eech of the governor of New 
York and certain resolutions before the legislature of 
the same state, indicates a settled design of ()])position 
from that quarter. Under other considerations our 
situation here becomes daily more critical, partieularl}- 
in tlie administration of justice. Enter alia our state 
judicial system is too com])licated and C()stl3\ 

In consequence of a violent cold I had, which is not 
yet quite over, and has debilitated me much, I have re- 
linquished the intention of going to Washington thi^ 
winter. 

Pra}' fav«u- me with another letter in your first mo- 
ments of leisure. 

Yours, &c., 



249 



Dec. 7, 1819. 
Jonathan Roberts, 

Your favor of Maroli last was received. I am par- 
ticularl}' thankful for your havin<> spared me time 
enough to answer my enquiries when under the pres- 
sure so usual towards the close of a session. Contrary 
to your expectations at the date of your last letter the 
bill for admittinj> M. T. as a state has fallen throujih. 
The cause of it has operated as an additional occasion 
for the restless and the incendiary to create discon- 
tent, exagerate the evil arisinj* from the disposition in 
a majority of the House of Representatives on the score 
of the intended restriction of slavery and prepare the 
credulous and unwary for any desperate act so that on 
the misfortune of the country they may raise them- 
selves into a temporary consequence or artificial use- 
fulness. Of this number, T. H. Renton is tlie most con- 
spicuous. He is the same Benton who is the editor of 
the St. Louis Enquirer, and who in order to ingratiate 
himself with Scott and his faction, and at the same 
time put out of the way a professional and political 
rival, contrived to bring Chas. Lucas to an encounter 
twice and terminated the contest by a catastrophe the 
most abhorrent to the feelings of every honest man. 

If Mr. Scott has been elected this year it is only for 
want of a proper opponent. Almost every one aj) 
peared quite callous and indiftVrent about the last 
election. I might have been a candidate with pretty 
good prospects of success, but I have not enjoyed good 
health from April until now. I am just recovering 
from a billious complaint which has been very near 
proving fatal. Even if I had been in the most favor- 
able situations I should have felt very little anxiety 
to succeed a person who had so much ruflfled the feeling 



250 



of man}' members of rongress on an occasion which 
requircil all pnulcnce and delicacy and who had j^en- 
erallj iiiven such an unfortunate distinction and made 
so poor a legacy in a multiplicity of cases. Much less 
could I ever reconcile to viilually as,suiii(^ the ol)li«>a- 
tions to support the Spanish land claimants in their 
pretensions not less adverse to the interests of U. S. 
than they are unjust in themselves. 

It appearvS that at the date of your last letter you 
were not acquainted of the fate of my claim Ix^fore 
Congress for compensation. It had then fallen through. 
I had but a few da^s before receivtnl a letter from my 
friend Hobt. Moore informing me that the select com- 
mittee t(» whom my claim had been referred, had re- 
porteil a bill in my favor. That it had passed a com- 
mittee of the wiiole house, — that when it came before 
the house a motion was made to strike out my name, 
leaving that of C. B. Penrose, which was negative, thai 
afterwards the bill was generally postponed by a small 
majority. The motion for striking out my name was 
predicated upon the special reason that whilst 1 was 
a land commissioner I held another commission and 
Penrose did not. Mr. Pointdexter was the man who 
made that motion. This same disposition supported 
upon such an artiticial reason could hardly have been 
expected from a southern Rep. Perhaps his feeling may 
have been enlisted against me from the circumstance 
that many of the princijtal inhabitants of the Mississippi 
State have been Spanish land rlaiinants under pretty 
similar circumstances to that in Louisiana and Mr. 
Scott and his associates thot it a fair o])iK»rtunity 
to retaHate on me for what they call my inofMcious- 
ness or rather my opposition to their claims, — thus 
should I ultimately be denied a full compensation, I 



251 



slial] feel myself justified in believing that it is an 
expiation of the crime imputed to me by the land claim- 
ants thro the agency of Mr. Scott, for my fidelity to 
the interest of the U. S. I might refer you for the 
general tenor of my conduct to the reports of the com- 
missioners now lodged with the Secretary of the Treas- 
ury of U. S., but it would be requiring from you more 
trouble than you could conveniently bestow. I there- 
fore beg leave to refer you to a single decision (letter to 
R. T. Moore for this). I beg of you to bestow a few 
moments of your attention to the foregoing report of 
the secretary of treasury of U. S., as also the 4th and 
8th sections of an act entitled "An Act Respecting 
Claims to Land in the Territories of Orleans and 
Louisiana", approved March 3d, 1807, whereby the Presi- 
dent of LI. S. was authorized to form a new Board, &c. 
(letter to Mr. Moore). 

Mr. Scott has explicitly declared on his return last 
spring that Mr. Penrose's claim for compensation was 
rejected because he was in bad company, (i. e., because 
my name was coupled witli his in the petition — for one 
of the objects of Mr. Scott is to lessen me both at home 
and abroad). He went even further, — he has stated 
that some of the friends of Penrose were going to make 
a motion to strike out my name, had they not been 
anticipated by a motion for a general postponement. 
Whilst Mr. Moore has positively stated to me ^hat the 
motion to strike out my name was actually made and 
lost, before the motion for general postponement was 
made. It appears that Penrose believing Mr. Scott's 
statement, has felt inclined, this year, to improve the 
opportunity, by petitioning alone. For my part I feel 
so disgusted with the injustice which I experienced last 
year, that I have not thot proper to render my pe- 



252 



tition this yoar. Nevoithcl^'ss should tlie petition of 
Pi'inoso this sissiou hv reported favorably, I should cer- 
tainly wish that some of my friend»s in Conj^rws would 
be pleased (o move tlie insertion of my name in the 
report. 

I am so exhausted that 1 have been obliged to recur 
to my son to write this for me. 

With ureat respect, I am, 

Your obedient servant, 
(Sig.) JNO. B. C. LUCAS. 



St. Louis, December 27, 1821. 
Cesar E. Rodney, 

(Commeucinii the same aLS letter preceding to Patrick 

Farrally, 27th of December, and for residue the same 

as that to Walter Lowrie of 21st of December, 1821, 

with less specifications as to conduct and life of Thos. 

II. Benton.) 



St. Louis, Augt. 29th, 1822. 
James Ross, 

Sir: — I have lately been assailed by a new set of 
enemies in Missouri. They have circulated pamphlets 
throughout the state, wherein I am charged among 
other things, witli having been one of tlie members of 
a convention (d" insurgents in the western ]>art of renn- 
sylvania, 1794, and having ])artaken with the violence 
and rebi'llious acts against llie ( xcise law and excise 
olticers. I'hal 1 am a pardoned rebel. 

Never such charges had been leveled against me 
before, 1 believe never would if my prospects as can- 
didate this year had not been so fair as to alarm my 

253 



opponents and drive them to desperate means. As you 
are among the very few survivors to the transaction 
that have knowledge of my conduct on that occasion, 
I beg leave to ask you the favor of an answer to the 
following queries: 

Was I, to your knowledge or from general report, a 
member of a convention! of insurgents or any other 
convention? 

Was I, t(» your knowledge or from general report, 
present at tlic attack on Neville's house, or was I actor 
or abettor in ajiy violence committed on the person or 
papers of any excise man? 

Was I actor or ab(4tor in intcicepting the mail or 
in having certain citizens expel hd from the country on 
account of written communications to the government 
which were intercepted? 

Was I not a member of a committee that met at Park- 
inson Ferry and also of a committee that met at Browns- 
ville? 

Was 1 not one of the commissiouerwS from the Alle- 
gheny County with Messrs. Brackenridge and Morton 
that met the commissioners appointed by the President 
of the U. S.? 

Did I vote for receiving the terms proposed by tlie 
commissioners of the U. S. that is for submission, or 
did I vote or urge anything against at Brownsville or 
anywhere else? 

Was I one of those that received at Reedsburgh, the 
submission of the inhabitants of Miflin Township and 
Port Of Sinclair? 

Did 1 deliver you a duplicate of the same to be trans- 
mitted to the President of the U. S.? 

Your answer upon all the above queries or such part 
thereof as you may recollect will be thankfully received. 

Most respectfully, &c., 

J. B. C. L. 
254 



St. Loiii8, Jany. 4, 1827. 
Richard Ru«h, Sec3\ Treasury, 

Sir: — As tlie superintendencv <»r surveillance of the 
concern and interests of the U. S. in the public lands is 
comniitted to the treasury department, I beo- leave to 
submit to you a few remarks on a subject intimately 
connected with it. 

For thiis lonn while the French and Si)anish land ( laim- 
antK and particularly their agents at Wasiiinnton have 
complained and lamented tlie acts of Congress under 
the authority of whi(:h a part of the French and Spanish 
claims have been ('(uitiriiicd and reported nciKMally 
ajiainst by a former Board of Commissioners had not 
allowed to those commissioners a sufficient power to 
enable them to do full justice to those claims. They 
have also laid occasionally blame and reproof upon the 
commissioners themselves. I, for one of them, had 
much more than my proportionate share of it. I havft 
been singled out and persecuted by the land claimants. 
Their excitement against me was heightened from the 
consideration that they being almost all of French 
origin retaining the French language and manners, and 
myself being born in France. I ought to have made 
principle and public duty yield to French feelings and 
partiality. They would. n(» doubt, have returned every 
kindness to me for it. 1 should have been their favorite. 
I shouhl have ha<l a liberal siiare in their land claims. 
I should have been electe<l to the Senate of the V. S. 
But the love of pojjularity and wealth have never over- 
come my sense of duty to the country ef uiy choice. 

Thomas II. Benton owes chietly t(» the land claimants 
his seat in the Senate. He was their counsel and agent 
long before he was elected. It is generally understood 
that he has still an interest in a great part of their 



255 



claims as contingent fees. The course lie has taken in 
the Senate respecting those claims confirms me in the 
belief that he is still their agent and jjartner. He has 
exhausted at different times in the Senate all the means 
of having all the unconfirmed claims referred once more 
to a special commission, and after having failed in 
his various attempts he has seen with regret the 
passage of the act of May 26, 1824. This act would 
liave been welcome and cherished by the land claim- 
ants and their agent if their claims could bear the 
test of judicial scrutiny, but as this is not the cavse, they 
are extremely displeased with that law and wish to 
have their claims referred to some special commission 
where proceedings may be had unguardedly, ex parte, 
and without regard to law of evidence so that confirma- 
tions or at least a favorable r«^])ort may be procured in 
a hocus pocus way, and so on, until the last claim sliall 
be passed through for so long as there remains a claim 
unconfirmed they will contend that the opinion of a 
special commission cannot conclude them from their 
rights or pretensions to right protected by treaty it 
being not the decree or judgment of a tribunal con- 
stitutionally competent to decide by due course of law. 
Under those circumstances. Mr. Benton has recurred to 
a last expedient, lie has advised the claimants to 
apply to the i)resident for a recommendation of their 
claims to Congress in order to iin])ose upon the legisla- 
ture from a quarter not at all suspected. 

I hope this is his last piece of generalship. A pe- 
tition for that purpose has been signed and addressed 
by the land claimants to the i)resident of tlie T^. S. and 
it is I presume in consequence of it that the president 
has made a particular recommendation in liis late mes- 
sage for the security of the land titlesderived from the 



256 



governmeut of the French and Spanish nations. Had 
the president thought at that time of the existence of the 
f.ct of the 20th May, 1824, entithMl "An Act Enabling 
the (Maiiiiants to Land Witliin the Limits of the Static 
of Missouri and Ty. of Arkansas to Institute Proceecl- 
ingvs to the X'aiiditv of 'i'lieir (Maims" he would ccrtjiinly 
have been satisfied that nothing further need to be done 
by Congret^s on that score that the laud claimants have 
now a judicial tribunal in Missouri made competent 
and open to iUiStitute i)i-oceedings and try the validity 
of their titlcvs in due course of law which is the highest 
security that the constitution of the U. S. can grant 
where claim to right or titles are disputed or contro- 
verted. From these it clearly appears that the recom- 
mendation of the president on the occasion befoirej 
alluded to is a mere suri)lnsage. I am aware however 
that the agent of the land claimants will make use 
of this recommendation as a pretence to change if pos- 
sible the present course of legislation for the land claim- 
ants aie of such a character that they dread nothing 
so much as a iu<licial investigation. Having endured 
so nmch ])ersecutiou as land comnlis^sioner whilst I en- 
deavored to save the U. S. from the grasp of imposition, 
I now feel a double interest in seeing that the U. S. 
be u(»t at last tricked out of millions of acres of the best 
land and that my labor and suffering be not productive 
of benefit to the country. I know that these land 
claimants in general and their agents relying as much 
on the ilupiness of congress as on their unrelenting 
activity and intrigue, have repeatedly asserted with 
much apparent confidence that their claiuus will ulti- 
mately be confirmed and in order to attain the better 
their end, they have conveyed part of their claims to 
divers influential persons in Kentucky and Tennessee 



257 



and probably in other places. vShould tlieir expecta- 
tiouvs be realized, I can eafely say that subornation, 
autedatinii and other frauds of different shades and 
degrees would receive a very high premium. 

I can assure you, sir, that their clainivS, with very few 
exceptions, indee<l, have not the shadow of legal or 
equitable merit; that there is no incejition of right what- 
ever to confirm by. Congress might, hoAvever, give the 
name of confirmation to a mere donation which would 
be a mere covert unworthy of the legislature of a free 
people. 

Permit me to observe- that the land commissioners 
have construed most liberally 'any French or Spanish 
laW'S that have come to their knowledge respecting 
those claims. That also great many claims have been 
confirmed amounting to a great yield of land. The 
present land claimants are not suffering for want of 
land. They have already been largely provided by con- 
firmation of claims, to great yield of land of the best 
quuMtj. 

For further information I here enclose a draught of 
a petition now in circulation in several i)arts of the 
state for subscription. The land subject in Missouri 
and Arkansas having been discussed for this long time. 
I have presented in various communications my view ol 
the same to Messrs. Gallatin and Oawford at the time 
they were respectively at the head of the Treasury De- 
partment, but probably some of rliese communications 
may be found in the office of the same department. 

Another powerful reason presents itself why Con- 
gress ought to act most circumsi)ectly on the present 
occasion. Sometime Congress in the plentitude of its 
power might deem it proper to relax or deviate from the 
legal principles on which those claims stand and be 



258 



liberal on the groimd of policy or expediency. Let 
me reiiiMik that a law mij^ht be jtassed which would be 
over I'cacliinn in its cITcct.s. Tiiis has already been the 
case by Hie ad of llie 12th of April, 1814, entitled "An 
Act for the Final Settlement of Claims and Titles to 
Land, «S:c." This act has operated substantially as a 
donation. l>y all the actvS paisscd on that subject pre- 
cedini*- that of May 2(5, 1824, it was made the duty of 
all claimants to file a notice of their claims in the office 
of the recorder of land titles for the district of Louisiana, 
now state of Missouri, this recjuisite bein,i»- now dis- 
pensed with by the act just mentioned. No one can 
know or even guess what number of claims exiist, nor is 
here any restraint on the former Spanish officers yet 
living to coin new concessions if they please to do it, 
if a Spanish registry is not a check and. requisite to 
authenticate them. 

r transmit to y(ui a pamphlet containing an argu- 
ment which I delivered before the District Court of 
the U. S. two y(^ars ago in a case where the heiiis and 
representatives of Antoine Soulard are plaintiff and 
the r. S. defendants. It will be seen that Soulard 
staled on oath that he had a concession for 10000 arpens 
of land issued by Zj'uon Trndeon, lieutenant governor, 
«!<:(•., that he lost it by accident he proved by the testi- 
mony of Lassuvss who had been lieutenant governor 
since at the same ])ost. That he, Lassiiss saw the said 
concession and read it in part, &c. No such concession 
was on the Spanish register, nor mentiomnl or noticed 
in any public document. An issue was made upon the 
existence of the concession. The verdict of the jnry 
was that such a concession had existed. The court has 
since decreed against the claim on the ground that the 
officer who issued the concession had no authority to 



259 



do it, &o. Since tliat time, a letter in the handwriting 
of Antoine Soulard and under liLs own signature has 
been found in the recorder's office. It was addressed 
to the land commissioner in 1806, wherein Mr. Soulard 
formally declares that he claims no greater quantity 
of land in his own name in Louisiana than about 4000 
arpens. It appears that about the same quantity has 
since been confirmed to him. That letter stands in con- 
tradiction to the existence of his pretended lost con- 
cession, and to the testimony of his friend Lassuss. I 
have cited this circumstance in order to give you a 
specimen of the fraud that may be unblushingly prac- 
ticed on the U. S. For my part, had I been judge in 
that case, I should not have admitted the suggestion of 
the loss of an unregistered land concession, nor even the 
concession itself as legal evidence, because an unreg- 
istered concession is destitute of the character of 
authenticity, and because the requisite of Spanish reg- 
istry is the only check to prevent coining of conces- 
sions ad infinitum. The former lieutenant governor, 
Lassuss, is himself a claimant for a large quantity of 
land. He is at hand, and should it be finally decided 
that an unregistered concession is a legal evidence of 
right, nothing but his conscience or honor could prevent 
him from issuing as many more concessions as he 
pleases. 

The early habits and education of the officers of a 
despotic king are far from being the best security of 
their respect and devotion to the interest of a repulican 
government. I am, sir. 

Very respectfully, &c.. 



260 



St. Louis, February 8th, 1827. 
Ki ell a id Kuvsh, 

Sir: — Without <h^partin«» from the opinion which I 
have imparted in my letter to you of the 4th January 
hist, and believing*- as strcmjiiy as ever tliat the French 
and Spanish hind chiimants ou^ht to be held fast to a 
court of law for the decision of their claims just as they 
are now, yet, in as much as the legislature of this state 
in their late memorial to Con^res^s have expret^scd a 
desire that a Board of Commissioners be appointed to 
make decisions on the same claims, and as I know that 
the aj^ents of the land claimants near Congress will use 
every means to attain that object, in case they should 
succeed, I should have no kind of objection to be one of 
the commissioners, being- satisfied from the opportunities 
1 had that I am acquainted with everything relative to 
those claims, probably better than many other persons 
as I can attend to this business without personal incon- 
venience. Perhaps it may be proper to inform you that 
I was appointed some years ago one of the commis- 
sioners to act at Pensacola upon the land claims in West 
Florida. The appointment was neither sought for nor 
expected. The Secretary of the State informed me 
then that in case I accepted my attendance and services 
at' Pensacola were wanted without delay. This to- 
gether with some pressing business of my own at home 
prevented me from accepting the appointment. 1 hope 
you will be pleased to communicate to the president 
without delay the contents of this, my letter. 

Respectfully, &c., 

J. B. C. L. 



261 



12tb Sept., 1823. 
J. Russel, Editor. 

Nothing ba« become, nowadays, more stale and de- 
ceptive tban tbe means commouij used to express pub- 
lic opinion. There is in the moral as well as in the 
physical syst<'ni, something light and volatile which 

at tbe surface of every substance. This nothingness, 

these bubbles viewed at a distance are too apt to be 
taken for what it is not, tlius it leads to egregious mis- 
takes, to suppositions and inferences entirely un- 
founded. For instance, whilst almost all the citizens 
of any town or ])art of countiy are most intent on the 
pursuit of their respective avocations it will often hap- 
pen that the idlers and designing men with which every 
part of the country is aflHictcd will put in their own 
head to start a subscription for a dinner, a ball, «S:c., in 
testimony as their cant is of respect for such one or 
other of their kidneys or fellows. One or more of their 
hands are immediately set at work, and if after having 
teased and entreated one or two hundred pervsons to 
subscribe, they can succeed in getting two or three 
dozen nameis to their paper, the matter is fixed, a dinner 
is given, toasts are drank, and the many learn by the 
next paper the sentiments which these few have palmed 
upon them. 

, The dinner which was giv( n in tdken as it is said of 
respect to Genl. Hector on his return last sjning from 
the city of Washington, presents a recent instance of 
this mode of proceeding. (This kind of imp(>sition.) 

The St. Louis Enquirer of informed the« 

public that such a dinner had been given and regaled 
us with the toasts which were drank th«Mi, but an agre- 
gious mistake was made in stating that the toasts were 
drank at a dinner given in testimony of respect, &c., 



262 



by t\w eitizcus of St. Louis. It is cvidciil that these 
\v(»r<ls ji (liuuer i»iveu by the citizens convey the idea 
that all the citizens uave it, or at least a majority of 
the citizens had a participation in it, but what will it 
be said if in r<'ality tli<' niiic-tcntlis of tlie citizens of 
St. Lonis had nothini; to do with that dinner, a^s is ab- 
isolutely the case. Such an imposition is really un- 
sufferable. To what purpose then vso an ej're<'ious 
falsehood should have been published. (The true state 
of thiniis was i)erf('ctly known to the editor of the En- 
<iuirer, for he was himself at the dinner.) This ^ross 
departure of truth necessarily rai,ses the presumption 
of an evil desii^n in some <tne. ^A^)u^d it not seem prob- 
able that this dinner was j;iven in order to have an 
opp<irtunity to toast (Jenl. Rector and T. H. Benton, and 
by omittini; I). Barton to give to understand abroad 
and in the distant partes of the state, that Messrs. Rector 
and Benton stood high in the opinion of the citizens of 
St. Louis whilist Mr. Rarton was slighted if not di- 
rectly censured. In tact the c(»nduct of Wm. Rector as 
surveyor general met with the approbation of the citi- 
zens of St. Louis and consequently the v«)te of Mi-. 
Benton in the Senate in favor of his nomination, whilst 
the vote of :\[r. Barton against it was censured. 
Happily the people are wide awake and the time of im- 
position is over, this ruse de querre is perfectly harm^ 
less. 



September 25, 1825. 

James Rnssel, 

Sir: — I recjuest you to insert as soon as pojssible, in 
your paper the enclosed comic essay, preserving the 
same arrangement in which the lines stand. 

263 



I have consulted persons of a correct taste, who de- 
clare it meetvs their entire approbation as to propriety, 
and also being in the true comic character. In order 
to obviate all posvsible objection, if any, I make myself 
answerable for all the consequences of the publication. 
I wish, however, that idle curiosity be not satisfied. 

Respectfully, 

J. B. C. L. 



St. Louis, February 10, 1821. 
Edmund Rutter, 

(Letter to, enclosino- an essay siiiued "A Farmer" with 
request to consult with our friends and make such al- 
terations as they may deem meet; amonij; these friends 
I mention Messrs. Stephen Bird, Abraham Bird, Bolin- 
ger, Frizel, McFerran, English. 

Part of letter verbatim. A person in whom I par- 
ticularly confide havS told me that several of the lead- 
ing opponents at St. Louis, to tlie amendments to the 
couvstitutiou, were the other day lamenting together on 
the bad management of Mr, Gyer in the legislature. 
They consider that he was too openly insulting and 
contemptuous in the course of tlie debates; that the 
breach which he has impudently made is probably too 
wide to be easily closed; that this unhappy circum- 
stance will impair for a long time the political influence 
over the country members to which the gentlemen ot 
the bar are entitled from their talents and other con- 
siderations; and in the meantime the best guards and 
provisions of the constitution may be prostrated and 
undone. N. B. — Two of these bemoaners were political 
men. 

264 



My exp<»r'tati()n is that in case the general plan of the 
essay -meets with your approbation, after being cor- 
rected it will be handed to the i)rinter at Jackson for 
publication. J shall foiward you another essay by the 
next mail. 

Respectfully yours. 



St. Loui«, February 12, 1821. 
Edmund Kutter, 

Dear 8ir: — 1 hope you have received by the last mail 
a packet from me enclosing a letter dated 10th inst. 
and an essay. 1 here enclose another which 1 like- 
wise submit to your consideration and that of our other 
friends, 1 believe it ought to be published with as 
little delay as possible. Although 1 am subscriber to 
the paper of your town, I have not receiv<'d any this 
great while. Be so good to re(iuest the i)rinter to be 
more punctual with me. 1 wish him to send me six 
papers of each number containing the essay of last week 
and the one here enclosed. 

You will oblige m'e by writing soon to me and giving 

me such information as you })ossess on the state, of 

public opinion in your part of the country and also how 

these essays of mine have been approved or disapproved. 

I wish you to pay particular attention to the state of the 

seals of my packets to you, for I strongly suspect that 

I am not less watched at the post ottice than any where 

else. 

Respectfully yours. 



St. Louis, Augt. 17, 1823. 
Edmund Rutter, 

Dear Sir: — Your favor of the ()th ulto. has been duly 
received. I have been delayed answering until this 

2<)5 



time ill order to make more eiiqiiirv ou the subject men- 
tioned in it. I nevei' lieard before I received 3'ouiis, nor 
have I been able to hear since, of any pt^rsons intende^l 
to be candiihites or proposed as such for the (jflfice of 
Lieutenant (Jovernor. The only Ihinj; I can say is that 
I always heard you spoken of as respectable and a use- 
ful nieinber in the Homse of Representatives, and I am 
well watislied beside that you have a very good standini]^ 
in Cape (liiardeau County. We have had here already 
some canvassiuL'/foi- the next electicm of representative 
in Congress, and uKso for ^((vi^rnor. Vou probably have 
heard that I have been appointed by the President one 
of the coniniissioneris for ascertaining claims and titles 
to land in the territories of Floiida, and that I have 
declined to serve. It appears that my enemies are dis- 
pleased that I had such an offer and ])erhaps not less 
so at my not accepting it. The salaries are Jfl52000 per 
annum, payable quarterly. It is evident that I did not 
ask the appointment and that I have not thirst for 
power or money, and also that when I have been in this 
state repeatedly a candidate. I could not be actuated 
but by honorable and disinterested motives, such, for 
instance, as to prevent the leading lawyers of St. Louis 
and their faction from giving the state a constitution 
suitable to themselves only, and save the state the dis- 
advantage, if not the disgrace of being unworthily rep- 
resented in Congress. A residence of more than eighteen 
years in St. Louis, together with a concentration of all 
that is dear to me, children, friends, and property, iden- 
tifies me with the honor and prosperity of our state. 

Respectfully, 

J. B. C. L. 



260 



St. Louis, Auo-t. 28, 1819. 
Jas. Raiikiii Simi^oii, 

Sir: — Your letter to uie of the 30th of July has been 
lately received. The tract of laud which beloui; to the 
eistate of" (Miarles Lucas, deceased, aud is a Spanish 
uraut situate six or seven miles from Frankliu, is still 
for sale. AiS there is uo other tract b<dou,i»in«;- to the 
estate in that i)art of the country, I ])resunu' there is uo 
mistake as to the identity. 1 cannot tell whether it. is 
in the townsliip 41), however, I believe it is. The tract 
dou't contain six hundred and f(uty acres, it only con- 
tains six huudred arpens. The price in one dollar and 
tive-ei<>hths of a (h)llar per arjx'nt, one-third iu hand, 
one-tliird in one year fiom the date of the sale, the other 
third in two years. 1 have i)urchased myself at the 
February sales a fractional part of the section, No. 
twenty in towniship No. forty-uine, adjoiuin<i the six 
huudred arpens above mentioned near the bluff aud 
towards the Si)rin^. I b<tui!,lit it in order to have the 
Spriu}^ more completely iu 

(Manuscript destroj^ed.) 

1 have received yesterday a letter from John G. 
McDonald, Notary, dated Washiniiton, 4th Aui»t., iu- 
fonninu me that my draft f(»r six hnndrc^d dollars in 
favour of U. Pratt (tn you, sir. as secretary of the Treas- 
ury of the U. S., &c., has not been paid, and is protested. 
This ])reseuts a seriouvs inconvenience to me which, as 
it is will b(^ obvious to you, I ou«j;ht not to bear. I had 
li^ht to draw, and I have exercised that riiiht. If a 
draft on a bank of the vicinity ha<l been sent to me at 
the end of the 1st <]uarter, to-wit: 1st of March, or an 
information forwarded to me sooner, no such thiug 
would have happened. 



2G7 



I had appomted two years ago, Mr. Smith the cashier 
of the Branch Bank of the U. S. at ^yashington, mj 
attorney in order to have the money due to me for my 
salaries remitted at rhe Bank of the U. S. 
(Manuscript destroyed.) 
I hope from your justice that I shall not be made 
sufferer for an accident which I neither could help or 
control. 

Respectfully, &c., 

J. B. C. L. 



St. Louis, October 12th, 1817. 
John CoUon Smith, 

Sir: — Havinj; been informed that a Mr. Reeves, pro- 
fessor in the faculty of law, used to give his lectures at 
Litchfield, Connecticut, with reputation and success, 
and understanding that lectures on the same iscience 
are still continued at the same place either by him 
or b}' some of his learned disciples under his auspices; 
being also convinced that such an institution must be 
of an infinite advantage to initiate students properly, 
save the disgust commonly attending the commence- 
ments, methodize their ideas, understand the general 
object and reason of laws, argue better from analogy, 
I have thought it expedient to send one of my sous 
named Wm. to partake with the advantage of this insti- 
tution. 

This letter will be handed to you by him. I beg 
of you, sir, to extend your benevolence to him and 
assist him with your counsels. 1 have thought proper 
to isend him so far and incur the expense attending his 
long journey, &c., believing from past experiment that 
he will make a good use of his time, that his conduct 
under other respects will be correct and that when he 

268 



will leave Litclitiohl, n(» recolloctions will be left be- 
hind him unfavorable io \\\i> chaiactf'i'. I am an utter 
Nti'an<»('r in voiir state. You ai'e anions the very few 
with whom 1 can make th\s a]>i)li(a(ion. 

If in any manner whatever, I could be of any service 
to you in the part of the country which I inhabit, you 
may contideutly make use of me. I am, 

Kespectfully, 

J. B. C. L. 



Nov. 22d, 1819. 
K. Smith, 

Cashier Bank U. S., 
Sir: — 1 have received a copy of your letter to the 
Secretary of the Treasury bearin<» date the 7th of Oct., 
1819, which reads thus (here follows the letter) believ- 
ing that as since last 3'ear the Bank of the U. S. had 
ceased to pay the notes of its branches, the arrange- 
ment which I had made with you could not be con- 
veniently carried into effect I .supposed that the only 
way left me to do was to draw upon the Treasury- of the 
U. S. which I accordingly did. My draft was protested 
and the reason given foi it was that my salary for the 
two tirst (juarters of the year had been i)ai(l into the 
hands of my attorney at Washington. In your letter to 
Mr. (roford you state that my first quarter's salary 
has been drawn by you and placc<l to my credit in the 
Bank of the V. S. and that my IM and .*?d quarters have 
been transmitted to me by drafts on the Missouri Jiank 

(Manuscrii)t destroyed.) 
the dates of the drafts (the one 7 of July, the other the 
4 of Oct.) I am lead to conclude that they are in pay- 
ment of my salaries for the two last quarters of the year 
ending 30th Sept., 1819. If so, there must be the 2 

269 



first quarters credited to me at the bank of the U. S. 
This seems to follow from your statement that you 
have sent rae but 2 quarters, and from the fact that 1 
have received but one half of my salaries for the last 
year. If thivS is not the case I su])iK)se that you must 
have sent me a <lraft on the. bank here for that quarter 
ending- in Marcli last, and that it has miscarried or has 
been miislaid. 1 therefore wish you to forward me a 
draft on our bank for that (juarter, or if otherwise it be 
credited to me at the Baidc V. S. that you will have the 
jioodiHss to inform me of it williout delay. The pecu- 
niary embarrassments under wliicli our country labfU's 
are not lesis felt by us than by others. 
I have the honor to be, 

(Sig.) J NO. B. C. LUCAS. 

/ 

January 24, 1827. 
Genl. Saml. Smith, 

Maryland, 
Sir: — The French and Spanish land claimants within 
the bounds of the State of ^lissouri and Ty. of Ark. after 
having seemingly slumbered for a while, have re>sumed 
lately their wanted activity. They have ])etitioned the 
presidf^nt and have procured thereby a special recom- 
mendation of their claims in lii.s message to the two 
houises at the commencenient of the ]>resent session of 
rongress. It is obvious that this recommendation was 
anticipated by an Act of Congress entitled "An Act 
Enabling the Claimants to Land in the State of Mis- 
souri and Ty. of Ark to Institute Proceedings to Try the 
\'ali<lity of Their (Maims, Approved 2() May, 1824,'^ 
whereby the District Court of the U. S. for the State of 
Missouri is made competent to try the merits of their 



270 



(hums and by a liiial (1(mi'('«^ to settle and determine the 
(piestion ol the validity of the tith^ acfordini; t(» the 
laws of nations, the stijmhition (d" an.v treaty and pro- 
cecdiiiiis nmh'i- the same, the several acts of (\(nj:,ress 
in ridalion thereto and the hiws and ordinance (d" the 
jidvernment from whicdi it is alleged to have been de- 
rive<l, »S:c., and in all cases the party aj;ainst whom 
the jndi;nient or decree of the said district court may 
finally be ^iven, shall be entitled to an appeal within 
one yeai- of its rendition to the snpreme conil of the 
r. S., &c., it is self-evident that every i)rovision neces- 
sary for the security of titles under treaty, &c., is madi 
by that act, and that the clainiantvS cannot aisk anything 
moi<' unless ii is an absolute donation under color of 
conrirmation, an<l, indeed, 1 believe it is what tliey are 
after. Their avowed object is to have their claims re- 
ferred once more to a Board of Commissioners where 
they expect to obtain better terms than in a court of 
law. ThovSe claims ha^e already been reported aj;ainst 
by a IJoard cd' Ctmimissioners. A second referreuce 
couhl attain no other end bnt <()llusion and fraud. The 
claimants aic now safely jjrovided for the pur]M>ses of 
the security of their titles if they are i^ood, but fnun the 
ojtportunity I had as a former land commissioner, I am 
well satished tliat withciit faxor and a donation in dis- 
".'.uise, the claimants are undone and they know it da 
well as I do. They depend upon their perseverance 
an<l the mana«»ement of their agents in both houses of 
(dn^ress. They <lread a trial at law as a prisoner who 
is conscious to deserve the sentence of the law-. They 
have j^athered strength and intluence by conveniuj; part 
of their ( laims to divers intluential persons in Tennessee, 
Kt'U lucky, .Jcc. 



271 



I now feel a double interest in seeing that the U. S. 
be not tricked out of millions of acres of the best land 
and that my labor as a former land commivssioner, the 
persecution, vexation and my self-denial of political 
ag'^randizement, accumulation of wealth, be not unpro- 
ductive of public benefit. 

For further information I beg leave to refer you to 
the enclosed draft of petition that you may have an 
idea of the weakness of a Spanish claim and its dis 
crepancy from tlie Spanish law. I enclotse you also 
a pamphlet cdntaiiiinii the -substance of an argument 
which I have delivered before the District Court of the 
U. S. for Missouri. The land claimants and their 
friends have never ceased to boast and assert that their 
claims will ultimately be contiiined. greatly (lei)ending, 
I suppose on the dupiness of Congress, on the persever- 
ance and influence of their agents at Washington. You 
are among the few that are contemporary to the origin 
of those claims and can best satisfy the Senate of the 
propriety of holding the land claimants fast to a court 
of law, or else, abide by the limitation for not prose 
cuting their claims in due time. 

With respect, &c., 



Draft of petition against removing laud claims from 
a court of law. r*ami)lilet confaining argument case 
of, vs. V. S. for 1 ()()()() ai'pens of land situate on Cuivre 
Kiver. Seven packets of same sent to, Jany. 24, 1827. 

Saml. Smith, 
Wm. Findlay, 
John Cooke, 
South Carolina Smith, 
Wm. Hendricks, 
Wm. Drayton. 

272 



St. Louis, January 15tli, 1820. 
Hou. Henry Southard, 

Sir: — A nvvixi many of the original Spanish land 
claimanl.< in tliat ])art of tlie former province of 
Louisiana wliicli i.s now iiicludod in the Missonii and 
Arkansas territories liave sohl vseveral large claims to a 
numher of American citizens from the west whom tliey 
have deemed lo be tlie most able, by influence and 
management to procure the ])assage of an act of Con- 
gress for the conhrmation of another part of the Spanish 
( laim, and put the residue in the most favorable train. 

(roveriior (lark, who has become greatly interested in 
those claims by huge purchases, is now in attendance 
at Washington. We may presume that he is not idle 
and gives every possible assistance to John Scott, the 
delegate wlio is likewise deeply concerned in them. 
These tw(t have been followed by several others from 
St. Louis. Tlieir reudezvous has been kept secret as 
htng a^s ])ossibh'. We have been a long time here with^ 
out knowing where they had gone. It is supposed that 
the iutluence of all of them is to be directed towards 
two i)rin<i]Kil (dtjects. The first is to keep back or to 
|)revent tlie taking up either of the two bills reported 
last year, the one by the Secy, of the Treasury, the 
other by the committee on public lands, whose leading 
principles are the sauie, which is to refer the claims to 
laud in the former province of Louisiana to courts of 
justic«< for decision within a given time. Their second 
((bject is to i>roiure the passage of a favorite bill re- 
l)orte(l by another committee (»n public lands on the 
10th of Feby., 181S. 

Let me observe to you that this last bill contains all 
the aberrations of the act of the 12th of April, 1S14, 
entitled "An Act f<u" the Final Adjustuient of Land 



273 



Titles in the State of Loiiisiaua and Territory of Mis- 
sonri" with this additional evil that it extended this 
aberration to a mnch jireater quantity of claims, still 
less certain and authenticated. That it provides for 
the opening- of an office for the entr^- of new claims and 
also to authorize claimants to file de nono in the new 
office, any claims which may have been disallowed by 
the former Board of Commissioners and whose proofs 
they must consider incomplete and insufficient, that 
they may have an opportunity of improving upon the 
former testimony. This opportunity presents conse- 
quences so much more dangerous, hh the testimony will 
be taken ex parte, the bill not iiroviding for the aj)- 
pointment of an agent to appear in behalf of the U. S., 
and as many witnesses have evince<l a gTeat docility 
and disposition to accommodate the land claimants in 
a variety of occasions before the former Board of Com- 
missionens. Let it be observed that nothing is more 
ruinous or adverse to the interests of the U. S. than 
to open an office for new claims, especially when the 
date of the treaty of St, Ildefonso is abandoned. No 
Spanish registry is required to authenticate claims. 
The conditions on which concessions depend under 
Spanish laws and customs are laid aside, and the num- 
ber of claims or quantity of land to which this relaxa- 
tion or dereliction of principle may apply is unknown. 
Taking all together the claims entered on record 
which remain unconfirmed, they present a great mass 
and a formidable aspect. Their number and the quan- 
tity of land which they call for is great indeed, it mat- 
ters of nothing less than several millions of dollars 
worth in choice land, but in truth it is nothing more 
than a gTeat superstructure without basis. The land 
claimants know it very well, and their want of confi- 



274 



deuce in their claims is fully evinced by their great ap- 
prehension of beinj;- sent to courts of justice for the 
a8<'('itaiiniH'ii( of their ri<;hts. Altho they make a 
f^reat n<»ise about (hef^ecurity and inviolability of their 
riohts under the treaty between the U. S. and P^rance, 
3'et they dread notliini» more than a judicial scrutiny 
by a constitutioiinl tiibiinal. 1 am well informed that 
some of the leading claimants have been candid enou<;h 
to declare not long since, that altho they have waited 
during these fifteen years, for the confirmation of their 
( laiiiis, they would be willing to wait fifteen years more, 
sooner than to have them referred to courts of justice. 
AA'ithout wishing to deviate from the independent course 
which I have taken with respect to all the land claim 
ants, whether they be American or French, neverthe- 
less I don't wivsh to irritate them anew. I therefore, 
request yon, .sir, to make such use of my communica- 
tion as you may think best, without mentioning my 
name. 

1 suppose you must be vsatitjfied that as a former land 
commissioncM-, as a judge of the territory and under 
other consideration^^, I had opportunitites enough to 
become interested iji those claims upon as good terms 
as anybody else, if X had, my interest would forbid 
me, now, to endeavor to put you on your guard on the 
present occasion. 

As a specimen of the course which I have pursued 

as a land commiissioner, I beg leave to refer you to the 

report of Mr. Galatin to the President of the U. S. upon 

Dubenpie's claim, which ijs contained in the 84th, 85th 

and Stitli i>ages of the appendix to the Land Laws, being 

a comitilalion made, as 1 believe, under the direction 

of Mr. Galatin. 

JNO. B. C. LUCAS. 



275 



p. S. — I have directed to you a number of the Missouri 
Gazette, wherein you will see under St. Louis head, 
copy of one of the electioneerinij; hand bills of our dele- 
gate, John Scott, by which it ;ii)pears that he has many 
land claims not contirmed. If he can have them con- 
firmed, his fortune will be colossal indeed. 



St. Louis, Jan. 4, 1822. 
John W. Taylor, 

Sir: — Althoujih I have not the happiness to be per- 
sonally acquainted Avith you, I have nevertheless pre- 
sumed to write to you from what I deem to be urgent 
necessity. By making enquiry from Doctor Eustis from 
Massachusetts or others you will soon be able to know 
who I am. 

Lest you should not be sufficiently iufonned of the 
defects of the Spanish land claims in the State of Mis- 
souri which remain unconfirmed; lest also you should 
not be sufficiently aAvare of the artful means which have 
been heretofore used and will no doubt be used again 
during the present session of Congress to procure the 
passage of an act for confirming the same, or for putting 
them in a proper train for confirmation, permit me to 
observe you that by the 4th section of an act of Con- 
gress of the 8d of March, 1807, the Board of Commis- 
sioners, — (The residue as in letter to Walter Lowrie of 
December 21st, 1821, except Avhat relates to C. Lucas; 
except also, what relates to pretensions of seat in 
Senate, is omitted. 

Yours, &c., 



276 



St. Louis, April 5tli, 1822. 
J. W. Taylor, 

Sir: — I wavS abs<Mit for some time before and since 
your favor of the 13tli Feby. reached St. Louis. Owing 
to this circumstance I have not been able before this to 
submit you mj- remarks on the bill which you have 
transmitted me. Shouhl this bill pass as it is now, no 
leoislation could be more ruinous and over-reaching. 
Notwithstanding my difference I shall attempt to pre- 
sent you a view of the amendments which, in m}- opin- 
ion, the Hret section ought to receive. Strike at the 
8th line commencing at the word before and ending 
at the 21st line with the word Louisiana, and insert in 
lieu thereof, during the time that the said French and 
Spanish governments respectively had the right to dis- 
pose of the domains or public lauds situate in the 3d 
late province of Louisiana, and which concession, war- 
rant or order of ssurvey is duly rec(U(l(Ml in the office of 
record of laud titles for the district of Louisiana; to- 
gether with a notice of the claiuj to land in pursuance 
thereof. 

Strike at the 48d line of same section commencing 
at the word united and ending with the word interest, 
at the 4(lth line, for the purpose of iuvserting in litMi 
thereof, it shall be the duty of the party petitioning to 
serve on the attorney of the U. S. for the district of 
Missouri, a copy of each petition that shall be tiled 
under tlic ])rovisious of this act within days from and 
after the time of tiling the 3d petition, in order that the 
3d attorney may nuike such a defence thereon in be- 
half of the U. S. as the case may require. 

I think it would also be ver}' proper to make a pro- 
vision for authorizing the l"resid<'nt of tlu' V. S. to em- 
ploy one or two counsels to aid and assist the district 



277 



attorney. Not only great benefit might be derived from 
their h'gal services but also from tlieir being a check 
against any collusion. Not that I pretend to cast any 
retlection against the judge or attorney, but because our 
government is based upon checks and because I be- 
lieve that if 1100,000 could bribe each of the officers 
they would be offered to them. 

In suggesting the foregoing amendment>s, I had three 
important objects in view. The 1st was to leave it 
entirely to the judiciary to decide when the French 
or Spanish authorities had ceased to have the power 
of gTanting laud. It i^s evident to me that the bill ac- 
knowledges the right of granting land four years aud 
four months after the S])anish gov(aument had parted 
by the treaty- of St. Ildepliomso with the right of domain. 

2d. Not to let Congress give a\v;jy laud under color 
of confirmation on which many families are actually 
settled; on which they have spent their strength and 
their means and to part of which they have a right of 
pre-emption, whenever they will be offered for sale by 
the U. S. 

3d. Not to let claims not entered for record in the 
office of recorder of laud titles, and, of course, having 
no known character of claims against the T^. S. 1 say 
not to let t^uch claiuis come undei- tlie notice and juris- 
diction of the District Court. The la\v,s providing for 
adjusting and quieting claims to land, required that 
an entry should be made of a notice of such claims and 
written evidence in su])])ort of the same that none but 
claims thus recorded should be acted upon by the 
commissioners and all claims not recorded should be 
barred. This indirect way provided in the bill of pe- 
titioning before the District Court for claims duly en- 
tered on the Spanish registry would open the flood 



278 



gates of fraud. This Spanisli registry is well known 

to me. It is intended to be made Jiny thing of, and no 

ealeuhilion can be made of th«' number and extent of 

claims that will be brought if the provisionis of the acts 

of Congress whieli bars all claims not duly recorded 

under the several acts of Congress are revoked or done 

away. I should submit 3'ou many more remarks did 

time allow. 

Respectfully, &c., 



St. Louis, December 20th, 1822. 
Hon. .John W. Taylor, 

Sir: — Although the land bill which originated laist 
year in the Senate was vi'vy favorable to claimants, 
nevertheless their case is so desperate and their pre- 
tensions so high that 1 am well convinced its provis- 
ions are not Lsutticiently aujple to (juiet their apprehen- 
sions. From these 1 am induced to believe that the 
delegation of Missouri did think it impolitic to have it 
past through the House of Kepresentatives last session. 
I am persuaded that they have not given up the hope 
of being able to have another bill presented and passed 
aX some unguarded time this or next session, which will 
refer the claims to a Board of Commissioners, for they 
dread nothing so much as an investigation before a 
court of law. 

Permit me to remark that notwithstanding the cau- 
tion and care ])laiuly observable in the last bill of the 
Senate on that subject. It contains two dangerous 
departures from established principles. The first is an 
acknowledgment that the Spanish commandants at 
St. Louis could issue concessions until the 10th of 
March, 1801, whilst the province of Louisiana was 

279 



ceded to the U. S. in the .same extent and with all the 
rights the French had acquired by the treaty of St. 
Ildephonso of the 30 of September, 1799, whilst also 
it giveis effect to acts done by the Spanish officer.s after 
their sovereign had surrendered the right of domain 
and the actual sovereignty. The second goas to em- 
brace not only the claims recorded but tlio,se also that 
are not. Nothing appears to me moic^ jn-oper than to 
declare that no claim predicated upon a concession pos- 
terior to the date of the treaty of St. Ildephonso ought 
to be taken notice of before the court or if not the ques- 
tion \\ hen and b}' what officer can be issued, ought to be 
left entirel}' to the court. It is beyond doubt that the 
office for recording; the written evidence of the land 
claims has been open long time and repeatedly too, that 
the obvious object was to ascertain tlie quantity of 
claims, and check the introduction of new written 
documents, and thei-e is an evident danger in opening 
a door to claims unknown and uncertain. It appears 
by unquestionable documents that Thos. H. Benton, 
senator from Missouri who was one of the directors of 
the Bank of Missouri when it failed, is indebted to the 
bank to the amount of .fl^OOO. That he is much in- 
volved and, no doubt, to a much greater aimmnt than he 
is able to pay, hence his desperate situation will make 
him exert all his power to obtain by one mean or other 
the passage of an act favorable to the Spanish land 
claims. He was the agent and counsel of many of the 
Spanish land claimants before he was elected to the 
Senate, and I am persuaded that he lias a great interest 
and share in them and owes his election in a great de- 



gree to that circumstance. 



Respectfully, 

J. B. C. L. 



280 



St. Louis, Janv. 10th, 1823. 
Hon. John W. Tayh)r, 

Sir: — Soon after I had received your letter of the 13th 
of February, 1S22, too^ther witli thr bill which had 
ori«;inat(Ml in the Senate, entitled "A Bill to Enable the 
Ilcddens of Incomplete French and Spanish Titles to 
Land, &c., in Missouri to Institute Proceedings to Try 
the validity Thereof, iJcc.", I submitted in my letter to 
you of the 5tli of A])iil, L'*<22, souu' remarks on the dan- 
i;ei(ius tendency (if the same bill and at the same time 
suggested some amendments. 1 undei\stand that this 
bill received several amendments before its tinal pas- 
sage in the Senate. 1 don't know what they are, but 
as they were not made nor advocated b}' Mr, Benton, I 
make no doubt bnt that they are unfavorable to hivs 
views. It api)ears that the bill did not suit Mr. Scott 
ais he has inti-oduced amendments before the select 
committee which must have been material and little 
acceptable to the house, for it seems that the bill did 
not progress since. I am inclined to conjecture that 
Messrs. Scott and Beutttu thought it necessary to appear 
to do something on the subject in order to amuse the 
land claimants at home with a semblance of imlustry, 
but that neither of them were satistied with a bill, how- 
ever apparently advantageous, which contains the prin- 
ciple of reference to courts of justice, for let me repeat 
to you that not only their best claims are (\ssentially 
dehcient and lanu', but most all of them are mere 
shadows. They have not excn a legal incipiency and 
cannot be carried throngh but by a leger de main, 
which might be accomplisluMl l)efore a P.oard of Com- 
missioners, but never before a Court of Justice. 

No doubt but Mr. Benton is as busy as ever in order 
to carry his point this year. His best hopes of political 



281 



infliienoe and wealth rest upon his success in the land 
claims. He wa.s the leading anient and counsel of the 
land claimants before he had a seat in tlu- Senate. It 
was chiefly tlironj;h the influence of the Spanish land 
claimants that he was elected. I know that n.s their 
agent tlie best part of his compensation was contingent. 
It depended upon the confirmation of the land claims. 
I firmly believe that be has now a considerable share 
in them. If he don't isucceed, his situation will be des- 
perate for he is greatly in debt. He was one of the 
directors of the Bank of Missouri when it failed. He 
indefatigably puffed the credit of that institution until 
he succeeded to induce the Secretary of the Treasury' 
to have dejxtsits made in it to the amount of |152,000. 
It having been found out that all the directors were 
the princii)al debtors of the bank and had assigned 
since it istoi)ped payment, great part of the rights and 
credits of tlie bank to a man notoriousl}' insolvent, the 
District Court for the state of Missouri has, at the suit 
of the U. S. app(»inted trustees to iiold the remaining 
property of the bank and attend its concerns. I have 
stated you this in order to satisfy; you that Mr. Benton 
is in a desperate situation that you may alarm your 
friends in the Senate and Hou.'^e of Representatives. 
As to Mr. Scott, he is under the direction of Mr. Benton. 
He is his echo. 

Be so good as to inform me briefly of the course 
which is pursued this year on the land claims in 
Missoui'i and send me the bill tliat is reported on that 
subject. 

Yours, &c., 



2^2 



St. Louis, December 15, 1823. 
Joliu W. Taylor, 

Sir: — Dry and uuj^ratifyinn to llic iniiid as the subject 
(tf llic Spanish land claiiius ivS, I have n<'v<'illi(dess re- 
pea t(Mlly wadt'd tlirouiili il in ordci- to alarm llic rep- 
resentatives iu eonj;ress an<l enable them to defend the 
U. S. from the impeudini* danger of imposition and 
fraud; believing as I do that you are truely animated 
with the desire of serving your country on all ques- 
tions that may jncNent themselves, whether they be 
attended witli celebrity and eclat oi' not, I confidently 
hope that you will not be wear}' to receive vsome ad- 
ditional commuuicatioius on the same subject. I never 
should have assumed such a task, (which, indeed, has 
subjected me to much trouble and persecution) had not 
the information which I have obtained, concerning those 
claims whilist 1 was land commissioner placed me un- 
der greater obligation than others to endeavor to save 
the public thing from the grasp of a set of men for the 
most i)art already loaded with the munificence of the 
U. S. and whose infiuence is even now too much felt 
and woukl be overwhelming should they meet with 
further success. 

Knowing as I do that the multiplicity of buvsiness 
which will inevitably crowd upon you in the course of 
the se<?;sion, in order to diminish your labour and trouble, 
permit me to submit to you a few more i-emarks. In 
turning to the bill of the Senate of February IDth, 1823, 
it will be seen that in "Benton reported it by refer- 
rence to the memorial of the legislature of Missouri 
on the subject of land claims. The date of this memo- 
rial is December 3d, 1822, and part of its contents is 
here inserted. 



283 



"The unconfirmed claims in tliiws state and want of 
definite tribunal where rights of this kind may be con- 
tested, and settled are subjects of much sincerity and 
solicitude amonj^st us. We wish this difficulty obviated 
and competent tribunals constituted to decide definitely 
the uuvsettled claims so that the laws belouiiin<» to the 
U. S. and those belonging to individuals may be known 
and set apart that every inducement ma}^ be offered 
and every obstacle removed as far as practicable to 
emigrants who may be disposed to locate themselves 
amongst us, but tho referrence of the reporter of this 
bill purely verbal and the bill stand.s in direct oppo- 
sition to the memorial. It is evident that the legisla- 
ture demand b}'^ its memorial that the land claims be 
put in contest or litigation and a final or definitive de- 
cision may be liad upon the same b}^ a competent tri 
bunal, whilst the bill provides for a referrence to the 
recorder of land titles for opinion onl}' and with di- 
rections that those ex parte proceedings and opinions 
be reported to congress at their next session, which is, 
in fact, doing over again the same thing with this dif- 
ference, that the report here before made on the same 
subject contains the opinions of the three commis- 
sioners and the one intended b}'^ the bill would contain 
but the opinion of one person with a dangerous latitude 
to exercise it. If Mr. Benton had paid any attention to 
consistency and to the wishes of his constituents he 
would have mentioned in his report on the memorial of 
the legislature of Missouri that a bribe had passed the 
senate during the preceding session which met entirely 
the wishes expressed in the memorial. He would have 
stated that there was another bill of a similar import 
which had originated in the house of representatives and 
was on their files; he would have urged Mr. Scott the 



284 



repi'oseutative of Missouri to call up oue of those bills 
and prcsvs the i)assa»e thereof, but sir, Messrs. Benton 
and Scott have other interests to attend to, I mean that 
of the Spanish hind claimants. I rc]»eat to von that 
these hi^t di-ead nothinji more than a fair trial of their 
claims in a court of justice. Hence Mess?*s. Benton and 
Scott ha<l alwavM an insuperable objection to the prin- 
ciph' (tf refen-ence of the French and Spanish land 
chiims to the judiciary wliich is embraced in the bill 
last alluded to, this is the reason why these bills have 
been botli hun<;- in the house of representatives. 

No doubt but Mr. Scott received at the same time that 
Mr. Benton did a similar memorial from tlu^ h^i»islature 
of Missouri and I am well satisfied that he did not urge 
the passage of any of the two bills which provide for 
the referrence of the claims to the judiciary or if lie 
had, certainly the bill would have past, for the principle 
of referrence is already sanctioned by the senate and 
by a committee of the house of representatives, it is just 
in itself and the interest of the peojjle of Missouri as 
well as of the V. S. concur in liiving it a legal effect. 

It. may well be expected that Mr. Benton will se- 
dulously pursue during this session his favorite object. 
1 ni"an the referrence of the land claims to the re- 
corder. A corresponding vigilance becomes absolutely 
necessary to counteract him and Scott. The St. Louis 
Enquirer of December 2()tli, IX'2'.\ contains a republica- 
tion entitled "Observations on the Nature and Origin 
of Rights to Land in Fpiter Louisiana, etc." which were 
published at the city of Washington in the year 1820. 
It is slated in the prefatory remarks that that essaj^ 
was submitted to the enlightened and honest man, Mr. 
Campbell, of Ohio, Chairman of the committee of the 
[jrivate land claims in the house of representatives and 



285 



met his approbation. I never had seen this essay be- 
fore now. It is written with some ability and plausi- 
bility, but it stands entirely upon false premises. At 
any rate let the merit of the land claims be what it may, 
their variety is so great the laws and regulations so 
uncertain and their application vso nice and difficult that 
non(^ but the judiciary can investigate isuch an intricate 
matter and make a proper discrimination. This pub- 
lication together with otlK^r circumstances makes me 
almost cci'taiii that an unparalleled effort will be made 
(hiriug tlie present s<\ssi()n by the land claimants and 
their agents in Congress to carry tin ir point. 

You may isafely alai-m your fiiends and i)repare them 
in due time both in the senate and house of representa- 
tives to resist Messrs. Benton and Scott. 

Kespect fully, 



St. Louis, November 28, 1823. 
(This letter was put in mail December 12, 1823.) 
John W. Taylor, 

Sir: — Although I have already written you a long 
letter, and that lately too, on the subject of a bill re- 
ported in the Senate on the l!)th of Februarj^ last b> 
Mr. Benton from the committei^ on i)ublic lands, the 
importance of the snbject however and the unaccount- 
able de])artnre of the Senate from the course they had 
taken before in i)assing such a bill is really alarming 
and reqinres all the vigilance of the house of repn^sen- 
tatives. Mr. Benton is one of the most artful] men 1 
know of. After having indulged in every abuse as 
editor of the St. Louis Enquirer against every member 
of congress opposed to his views and wishes whilst the 
Wm's question was pending, and particularly the mem- 

286 



hers from the free states iu lieneial. I inferred tliat by 
(lint of liyjKHrisv and affected blandess he has suc- 
ceeded jji (>l><aininu' the liood will an<l confidence of 
some (if llie members in the Senate, of whom he has 
befoi'e spoken with acrimony and contempt; this ac- 
connts in jiart for ha\ini; succeeded in liavinii his last 
bill passed through the Senate. 1 hope that it will be 
remembered that there are two bills on the file of the 
honse of rei)resentatives, one from the Senate, the other 
has orii>iuated there. Mr. Scott ouiiht to be ask(Hl whj 
lie don't call np the^e bills; he is the mere echo of Mr. 
Benton and he will tell you all what Mr. Benton will 
jiive in char*>e to say. These two iientlenien dread aw 
much a referrence of the Spanish land claims to the 
jn<liciary — as a j;uilty person would a fair trial. They 
are conscious of the total absence of lei;al nierites of 
their claims even of a legal iucipiency in the greatest 
part of them. 

^Ir. Lowndes from South Tarolina and several other 
membens of Cong, who aie either <l(\-id or have ceased 
to be members, were, to my ceitain knowledge, per- 
fectly sensible that the report of the commisfsioners on 
the French an.d Si)anish land clainiiS although not con- 
clusive against the claimants ou^hl to go for some 
thing and the least a\"ail it c(nild be of. was to inf<u-n\ 
the consciences of the nieml)e!'s of Cong, so as to iuduce 
tluMu to pass an act to enable the dainuiuts to put in 
litigation the claims re]Kuted against; it was in con- 
s('(|uence of his that bills to that effect were respect- 
ively rei»orted to both houses, and nothing but the in 
trigues of Benton and Scott have prevented the final 
passage of one of them. Both bills are still on the 
tiles of the luMise of representatives, and if they are 
abandoned to give preference |o the late bill of Benton, 



28' 



ConiiTess will become the sport and instrument of the 
cupidity of the land claimants. But why should Cou- 
i^ress throw oif its responsibility upon an obscure in^ 
dividual such as a recorder of land titles in Missouri 
must \w. Why not give aAvay the public lands at once 
and b*^ directly accountable to their constituents? 
Why jHit in a isingle individual — the power to mislead 
T'ongress? Why should he be exposed to the greatest 
temi)tation of being bribed? for their remains no doubt 
with me but that bribe will be offered to him one way 
or another. At all events, sliouhl the Bill of the Senate 
re})ortcd on the 10th of February pass tlie house o> 
representatives, it certainly could not be without ma- 
terial amendments; not less tlian two commissioners 
ought to be added to the recorch'rs, with an agent to 
cross-examine the witnesses of the land claimants; to 
rebut their testimony by other testimony; to meet their 
arguments, etc.; to inform and check the commission 
ers; the congress has pursued a ruinous economy in 
legislating on land claims and particularly so in the 
act of the 14th of April, 1814. entitled An Act for the 
Adjustment of Land Claims, etc. Voii will not suspect, 
T ho])e, that I suggest the creation of ottices that I may 
have the chance to fill one of them. I was, not more 
than four or live months ago, appointed one of the 
commissioners to examine the titles and claims to land 
in west Florida, and I declined the a])pointment; and 
even now I am decidedly of opinion that the last bill 
ought to be negatived and that the reference to the 
judiciary ought to be insisted u])on as a principle of 
legislation, safe and consistent with the o])inion of a 
great nunn- former members of Congress who had bet- 
ter opportunities of being acquainte^l with the sub- 
ject than the present ones. 



288 



I should not have entered into these long and per- 
haps tedious details was I not solicitous that my vself- 
denial of all o])portunities of sharing in land siH'cnla- 
tion and the .sacritice I have made of my peaee and 
IKipiilarily logcllicr \vi(li my otticial labors should be 
]»i(i(lii(tiv(' (tf some benefit to my country. 

I am respectfully, 

P. S. — Mr. Scott ought to be particularly watched 

towards the en<l of the session, when many members are 

gone olT and when lliose that remain have become less 

vigilant and attentive. 1 have isomewhere auiong my 

l)apers, a uewsi)aper containing one of !Scott\s former 

elctioneering land bills, in which he states that he owns 

Spanish land claims. If I can iind it I shall enclose it 

to you; independent of this I know that he's Spanish 

land claimant. 

J. B. C. L. 



St. Louis. 
(No date written an<l sent by mail 7th November, 

1823.) ' 

H(m. J. W. Taylor, 

Your letter of 2Lst of Feby., 1823, together with the 
bill from the Senate, reported in Feby. by Mr. Benton 
from the committee on publi<' lands to which was re- 
feri-ed the memorial of tlie legislature of Missouri on 
the subject, was duly received. I have been informed 
that the same has passed through the senate with an 
important amendment and is now on the tile of the 
houvsc of representatives. All the preceding bills and 
i-esolutiou^ on same subject which have been hereto- 
fore reported by ^Messrs. Benton & Scott were mere 
feints and false attacks. They never deprecated any- 

28! > 



thing- so much as to have these claims referred to the 
jiuliciaiT. Mr. B. ls now in earnest. The land claim- 
ants had such good terms with the recorder of land 
titles under the act of the 14 of April, 1814, that thej 
feel the greatest encouragement to have again their 
claims referred to the same tribunal. They had mort* 
than 500,000 acres of land confirmed bv that officer 
without law or shadow of it. True it is that by this 
bill nothing but opinions are given, but it was so too 
under the act of 11 of April, 1814, and these opinions 
received the sanction of Congress. This bill far from 
pursuing the memorial of legislature stands in direct 
opposition to it. The legislature prays for a prompt 
and speedy decision of the claims. The bill provides 
for obtaining opinion. The Congress is in possession 
of the reports of three commissioners which contain 
their opinions. This is doing over the same thing for 
the third time. This bill ought to be negatived and 
the House of Representatives ought to act upon the 
bill which is on its file on the subject, and in referring 
at once the claims to the judiciary, matters will be 
brought to a conclusion and tlie end and purpose. of the 
memorial will be answered. Whole counties are in- 
tersected by the large land claims. Communications are 
obstructed or rendered very difficult. The sooner these 
lands will be finally declared either public or private 
property, the sooner these evils will be removed. It 
(mght to be remarked that there are several actual 
settlers on those tracts not knowing at the time of their 
settlement that these lands were claimed by individ- 
uals. If these lands are declared public property they 
will be entitled to a right of pre-em])tion which will se- 
cure their labor, their shelter and place of their choice 
to themselves and numerous families, if not they will 



290 



be luiued and put in a desperate situation. The strange 
expression of the bill, to-wit: what claims in his opinion 
are enlilled to the indulgent consideration of the gov- 
ernment of the U. 8. present an inconsistency. Such 
indulgence might prove very treacherous, for whilst 
large tracts of land would be given away under frivo- 
lous considerations, the actual settler would be be- 
reaved of the benefit of right of pre-emption although 
never so willing to pay the accustomed price of the land. 

Respectfully, &c.. 



Jany. 27, 1824. 
fWaj' mail letter.) 
J. W. Taylor, 

Seeing from the proceedings in Cong, that the act 
regulating intercourse with the Indians will probably 
be revivsed and amended, permit me to state to you that 
so long as licenses will be granted to trade with the 
remote Indians, as is provided by a subsequent act, 
the practice of traping by the white will continue. 
Hostilities and pillage by way of retaliation on the part 
of the Indians Mill also continue. If the british have 
the good will and preference ujMtn us in trade, it is be- 
cause they cariT it fairly. They leave to the Indians 
exclusively the rights and benefits of hunting and trap- 
ing Should a military force be posted higher up the 
Missouri the points of contact would increase in the 
ratio of its further advancement and tho c(tnse<inent 
increase «»f collision wouhl multi])ly hostilities. There 
would be then as much reason to march from the post 
500 miles west a« there was this year for marching 
against the Vicaras. 

I beg leave to remark that General Ashley, togc^ther 
with his partners, marched from St. Louis with no less 

2yi 



thi\n 150 men. It is evident that such a unmber of men 
were not necessary for the purpose of trade, the}^ were 
to be employed at hunting and traping. They were 
actuall}- hunters and trapers. The bonds given can also 
show the quantity of goods taken for trade. 

In turning to the documents lately submitted to 
Congress by the Scy. of War it will be seen that the 
license granted to Genl. Ashley was to trade only in 
deed, it could not be for trapping. It is also reported 
and uncontradicted, thaf when he was attacked by 
the Vicaras he was in the very act of buying honses 
from the Vicaras. Tliis kind of trade is unauthorized 
by a general license. There must be a license for that 
special purpose. See lOtli Sect, of Act of March 30, 
1802. 

I cannot discover that Mr. Ashley had such a one, 
nor do I believe he had it. He was then a wrong doer, 
(trespasser) and the public money is spent and American 
blood spilt to arrest and support wrong doers, (violators 
of the law). It is understood that two Vicaras Indians 
have been killed the year before by a party of white 
hunters belonging to the Missouri Furr Company. 

These facts and remarks I presume may be of some 
benejBt. If they are not 1 have presented them Avith the 
purest intentions. 

Yours respectfully, 



St. Louis, Janv. IS, 1825. 
J. W. Taylor, 

Sir: — The Spanish and French land claimants in 

Missouri despair so much of having their ends accom- 

plislied by the last act of Congress entited "An Act 

Enabling the Claimants of Land, &c.", that out of sev- 

292 



lr;il lliousaiid claiius they have only brought before the 
district court 4 or 5 of the weakest kind too. This 
ch'arly indicates that they are j^oing to try their best 
throngli Messrs. licnton and Scott, their partners or 
agents to liavc tlic act amciKh'd one way or another. 

Permit me to observe to you that the present act is 
perfectly and abundantly adequate to all the purposes 
of obtaining justice if they look for nothing else, but 
I am persuaded from an intimate knowledge of the 
merits of their claims that they dread nothing so much 
as justice. Therefore if they are not very closely 
watched the}- will introduce and try to carry some 
amendments which at the list blush may appear inno- 
( ent and harmless, but whose effects will most prohablj^ 
be overreaching. At the express request of the judge 
of the district court and of the district attorney for 
Missouri I have taken part in behalf of the U. S. in an 
argument before that court agaiuvst a claim derived or 
pretended to be dcriviMl fiom the Spanish government 
for 10000 arpens of land. This is the 1st claim brought 
before the court of the U. S. under the act to try such 
claims. I need not to say that this circumstance has 
opened wider than ever the breach existing between 
the land claimants, their adherents and myself. 1 vshall 
speak again in the same case at the next term of the 
court in March. I shall act consistently from the be- 
ginning to the end. I am. 



St. Louis, December 13, 1825. 
J. W. Taylor, 

Sir: — I hope you have received before this a small 

pamphlet containing an abstract of argument wliicii I 

293 



delivered before the District Court of the U, S. for the 
state of Missouri, on oue of tlie Spanish land claims. 

The court has delivered an opinion which sustains 
almost all the positions which I have taken. The judge, 
however, has intimated that he would wish to obtain 
ViU-ious Spanish laws, d,ecrees and orders of the King 
which are referred to in some of the laws which have 
been produced in court. He has lately applied to the 
Secy, of State for these laws. They are in a book en- 
titled which is the Secretary's of State 

office. He has declared that in case he could obtain 
those laws he might modify or change his o]Hnion. I 
know, however, enough of the Spanish laws on the sub- 
ject of the disposals of the royal domains to be perfectly 
satisfied that the better the laws are known, the less 
chance there is for the complainant. 

In perusing my argument and the authorities to 
which it refers 3'ou must certainly be astonished to see 
how baseless and frivolous these claims ai'e. It fully 
accounts for the insu])erable objection jMr. Benton and 
other agents of the Spanish land claimants had against 
referring them to a court of law, and for his strenuous 
efforts to have them referred to the recoi'der of land 
titles. If he had succeeded, it would have ended with 
all the remaining claims pretty much as it did with a ^ 
certain description of claims under a former act of 
the 12th of April, 1804, that is in a hocus pocus way. 

I am informed that Mr. B. intends, during the present 
session to obtain an extension of the time to bring these 
claims before the District Court. I assure you that he 
is hopelss for these claims before any court of law, and 
if he wishes more time it is for the purpose and in hope 
to recur to new shifts and avoid the court in the end. 
Permit me to observe that several counties are inter- 



294 



ser<(Ml by those lni\i;o clniins, that vso h»ii<:' as they re- 
main uiidecidcd the Kettk*iiieuls remain disconnected, 
weak and unable to make roadis with sufficient bridges. 
It must be obvious to you that Mr. B. need to be closely 
watched. Probably you have it in your power to put 
some of your friends in the Senate on your guard. You 
know, I presume, that he has fallen out with Scott and 
Barton. I should like to know to what persons it 
would be advisable to direct a number of the same 
pamphlets which I can dispose of. Would you be so 
kind as to give me a list of names. I am sir, 

Respectfully, &c., 



St. Louis, Feby. 10th, 1824. 

(Letter substance.) 
J. W. Taylor, 

Claim land of H. Reddick if derived from Spanish or 
French government ought to partake with tlie fate of 
similar claims. If claim not better tlian him, little 
worth. He was made president of bank because no 
man of character would accept. He was president 
when it failed. It. appears that Mr. Scott has reported 
a bill to try the validity of French or Spanish claims. 
Perhaps some clause may be introduced to trammel 
court. All the questions of laws ought to be left to 
court even as to time when Spanish officers could issue 
concessions, They ought to stand in court with i*espect 
to the U. S. as individuals stand with res^ject to each 
other. 

St. Louis, February 25, 1824. 
John W. Taylor, 

Sir: — I have received the two bills which you have en- 
closed to me. I beg leave to refer you to my former 

295 



letters, particularly on the tsubject of the principles 
which ought to govern in case the validity of claims 
should be tried before a court of law. The bill which 
has originated in tlie liouse of representatives of Jany. 
15, 1824, first conies before my notice, 

I humbly suggest the following amendment of the 
1st section of the same, to-wit at the 4th line strike 
the words, chiiming lands, &c., and ending at the 23d 
line with the word representatives and insert in lieu 
thereof the following, to-wit: who ha,s been heretofore 
filed for record agreeably to hiw in the ofiRce of the 
recorder of land titles for the territory of Missouri any 
claims stated to be derived from or under the authority, 
laws, regulations or usages of tlie French or Spanish 
government. 

In striking and inserting the foregoing as substitute, 
the object is to avoid trammelling or shackling the 
court and leave it to the important question, when and 
how long the Spanish government had the power to 
alienate the luiblic domains. For my part I am per- 
fectly satisfied that from the date of the treaty of St. 
Alphonse the king of Spain held Lonisiana as a mere 
trustee, that is to say, that he had the power of admin- 
istering the government but not of alienating tlie do- 
main, much less had it after the 2od (»f December, 1803, 
which is the time when the IT. S. took possession of 
New Orleans; for the taking possession of a i)art is in 
law and reason, taking possession of the whole. 

As to the bill reported by Mr. Barton in the Senate, 
which by a late information I learn that it has past 
through the Senate. The event has fully jnstirte<l my 
anticipations. Mr, Barton and liis partners the land 
claimants read nothing more than a trial of their rights 
according to the due course of law. There is such a 



29G 



mass of frniid Jind porjury that it cannot be sifted and 
unia veiled, but in a eonrt of law tlu' bill in (jnestion is 
under evei-v respccl incompelenl to attain a jn'opci- and 
just object. I understand that it has been contended 
iii tlie Senate that the U. S. have the rii»ht to decide on 
the Sparn.sh claims as the kini» of Spain would or could 
have done. lie ccitainly could do it thiouuli liiis in- 
tendcnl who had a niiuistciial or administrative i)o\ver. 
To this 1 a<»ree. but the judicial proceedinj;s leaves still 
less cause of complaints with respect to the claims that 
may be rejected, whilst it is a much safci- way and of 
cour.se more expedient f<M- the V. S. I>nt should the jcad- 
inj; principles of the bill be retained, to-wit: the refer- 
ence to the recorder. Th<' <;reat ini])<»rtance of the sub- 
ject as it matters to briuii clainus to a great and valuable 
quantity of land to a final decision requires the best 
Liuard and caution in the mode of ])roceediug. Nothing 
is nioi-e ruinous some times than an im])i-oper economy. 
1st, 1 think it would be projjer to add two commission- 
ers to the recorder with such salaries as to induce in 
de])endent and res])ectable men to accept. There must 
be men above the temptation of bribes, firm and proof 
against cajoleries and threats. 2n(l, Power ought to be 
given to summons witness in behalf of the V. S. to 
compel their attendance, to answer to proper questions 
and of course the commissioners ought to have the 
power to order the maishall of the distiict crmrt of the 
U. S. to attend their sitting, to execute their process and 
to make return. 3r(l. I'he district attorney ought to 
be directed to appear before the board and give attend- 
ance in order to cross-examine Avitness of land claim- 
ants, procure testimony in behalf of U. S., to rebut, etc., 
to argue on the most important occasions, to file hisi 
exceptions to the decision of the board and have them 



297 



insertofl in tho report of the commissioners and in order- 
that Coni»Tess may affirm or reverse from proper data. 
4th. Tile commissioners ought to be directed to liead 
the report of each class of clainus with an abstract of 
the laws of France and Spain respectively, re<>nlatiujT; 
the mode of <• ranting land, with their leading reasons 
for confirmiug or rejecting nnder those laws. Unles>s 
such a thing be incorjxtrated in the bill, the power of 
congress will be a check merely nominal, for want of 
authority to exercise their discretion by. 

Respectfully, 



Substance of Power of Atty. to George Tompkins, Esq., 
Datetl 16th Nov., 1819. 

To sell a certain tract of land of the estate of Charles 
Lucas in Howard County, six miles from Franklin, con- 
taining six hundred arpens of land, more or less. The 
same tract which was granted to Gabriel Dodie by 
Charles Dehault Delassus, Lieutenant Governor, &c.. 
on the following terms, viz. at the rate of one dollar and 
5/8 of a dollar per acre, payable one-third in hand, 1/3 
in one year and 1/3 in two .\eai-s, all the payments to be 
made in money receivable at the land offices of this ter- 
ritory at the times of the payments, &c. 

Certified before J. Charless, J. P. 



16th Nov., 1819. 
G. Tompkins, 

Having received an offer from Mr. Joseph Simpson 
of your county for a tract of land six hundred arpens 
originally granted to (manuscript destroyed) 
not acceded to our terms in <'very respect. Perhaps it 
may appear to you expedient to advertise it in the In- 

298 



tellijionro for sale. You will use your (ILseretiou ou 
that iMiiiit. We iucliuc, however, to sell it iuuuediatelj 
upon the terms nieutioned in the power, if you should 
not see very fair j)rosi)eets of eiTeetiu<» a better sale 
very soon. We wish that you receive no money in 
payment but such as may be i»ood in the land olTices, 
or, if possible, such avS would be bankable at the bank 
of Missouri, as that int^titution governs the currency 
for the most part in this town. 1 am also disjiosed to 
sell the fractional cpiarter section which 1 bou«»ht ad- 
joinin«j; it, upon the same terms T uot it for. If you 
ishould tind sale for it please adviise me of it in order 
that I may <>ive 3'ou the necessary power to sell it which 
want of time prevents me from doing now. I should 
be glad to know when my demand against Moyan will 
be recovered. Any other information respecting our 
property in your quarter which (manuscript destroyed). 



Dec. 15, 1819. 
G. Tompkins, 

1 send a (••py of the deed to C. Lucas from John E. 
Allen. I shall isend the original by the first safe oppor- 
tunity, to be recor<led. 1 wish you to reserve a mort- 
gage upon the land as a security for all the considera- 
tion money, and until it is all paid. This condition is 

a sine qua non. 

(Sig.) JNO. B. C. LUCAS. 



Dec. 17, 1819. 
G. Tompkins, 

Your two letters, the 1st of the 27th of Nov. and the 
2d of the 1th of Dec. have been received. I answered 
the last by my letter of the 15th inst. The other had 

299 



uot then come to hand. In compliance with voiir re- 
quest I forwai-detl to you at the same time a certified 
copy of the will of C. Lucas deceased, to<;etlier with a 
copy of the deed of John E. Allen & wife to C. Lucas. 
I am informed by W. Lut ais that he left th(^ whole of 
them at the lodging of Maj. (xauteg who had pre- 
viously consented to take charge of them. I discover 
by the instruction you demand of me "what is the pro- 
portion between an acre and arpenf stating at the 
same time that .you are directed to sell b}' the acre. 
This being a part of fhe contents of your letter of the 

27 of Nov. ^^ hich wais received yesterday, it remains now 
with me to inform you that I was obliged to turn to a 
copy of the power of atty. to be satisfied that such a 
gross mistake had realy taken i)lace, for as the pur- 
chase has been made by arpens, it was also our full 
determination to sell by arpens. True it ii'-* that Mr. 
Simpson in his letter to me designated the land origi- 
nally granted to Dodie as containing 600 acres, but 
turning to a copy of my letter in answer to his of the 

28 August, I find the following, "the tract don't con- 
tain 000 acres, it only contains 600 arpens" thus you 
see clearly that we did not intend to sell by the acre, 
much less to ask but one dollar and 5/8 per acre, and 
Mr. Simpson is perfectly acquainted therewith from 
which it follows that the word arpent was intended to 
be inserted in the power, and that the word acre has 
been inserted thro mistake and contrary to our in- 
tentiims, therefore I need not to ascertain and inform 
you of the proportion or difference that exists between 
an acre and an arpent, but knowing perfectly that the 
intention of Mr. Hunt was the same as mine, 1 beg leave 
now to instruct you not to make any sale of the land foi 
less than one dollar and five-eighths of a dollar per 



300 



arpont. Lost my letter of the loth inst. should not 
leac'h yon in lime I shall state ajuain here that the iin- 
(leistandinii of Mi'. Hunt and nivvsclf is that in all sales 
and particulai'ly in the sale of this land a moit.ua.uc be 
reserved until the whole of the consiflei'ation mone.y 
he pai<l, therefore we wisli that yon may be informed of 
it as no mention is nia<le of it in tli<' powei-, altlio noth- 
iu«>- Is said in the ])o\ver of Atty. of the fraetion for 
which I have a eertiticate, whieh is adjoininj;- the (500 
arpens. I am still willing to dispcMse of it for the same 
price that 1 am bound to pay for it. 



January fith, 1820. 
George Tompkins, 

Sir: — We received a few days ago, a letter from Mr. 
Marcus Williams informing us of his <lesire to become 
the purchaser of an acre of ground lying about a quar- 
ter of a mile south of the public square in Boonville, on 
a bramli which empties into the Missouri below the 
town, being a part of the traet owned by Morgan, Peck, 
and Lucas, and which is undivided. 

We would prefer to sell him an acre somewhere im- 
mediately adjoining the town, in order to avoid cutting 
up the tract. However we would leave it to your judg- 
ment ami your superior knowledge of the situation, we 
therefoic re(|nest you to infoini .Mr. Williams of our dis- 
l»osition to encourage mechanics to settle in that town, 
and of our willingness to join with the other proprietoiis 
ill liic sale <d' an acre of ground to him at the place 
which y(»n and himself may agree upon, and for the 
jtrice an<l terms yon may tix. and we promise to confirm 
all which you shall lawfully do in the premises and 
make the necessary conveyance, &c. 

301 



We have answered all the letters which we have 
received from vou and sent you the papers von required 
h\ Maj. Gentry. 

We, sir, depend upon your being particularly atten- 
tive to our interests in ,any transactions you may have 
in our behalf, 

(Sig.) JNO. B. C. LUCAS. 



February' 11th, 1820. 
George Tompkins, 

I have received a letter from Joseph Simpson dated 
7th of January, in which lie complains of my disagree- 
ing to the terms expressed in the power of attorney 
which I sent you and insisting upon thoise terms. Had 
there not been a plain understanding between J. Simp- 
son and myself on the subject of the six hundred arpens 
of land, previous to any power of attorney being sent 
3^ou, and did T believe that Mr. Himpson had misun 
derstood my terms, I might think of entering into an 
explanation with him, but as 1 believe he understood 
my terms perfectly, and that his object is not to obtain 
the land upon the terms agreed upon between us, but to 
take advantage of an error or mistake made by Will 
Lucas in writing th«* power of attorney, and there was 
a perfect and plain understanding between Mr. Simp- 
.son and myself as to the terms of the sale. It is not 
reasonable that we would change our terms and ask 
less for the land after Mr. Simpson had explicitly agreed 
to those we had i)rop(>sed to him, as appears by the fol- 
lowing copy of letter which I received from him. 

(Here follows the letter.) 

We wrote you an explanatory letter on this same 
subject in order to show you that a mistake was made 

302 



in the power of attorney and in order to enable you to 
carry into eifert the real aiArcemcnf between ]\rr. Simp- 
sou and us, aud we now write you this to eiiabl«' yon 
to repel any reflections which may be u\:u\i' in conse- 
quence of this mistake, and also to repeat our willinj^- 
uess still to carry into eftect our plain and real aj»ree' 
UH'ui with Mr. Siiui)son if he chooses to adhere to it ats 
contained in liis letter above copied. 

JNO. B. C. LUCAS. 



July 19th, 1820. 
G. Tompkins, 

As you will have the opportunities to converse with 
Mr. Wallace and other «>entlemen of the convention, 
and hear of them the various incidents worth to be 
noticed, T shall contine myself to statinj; vsimply that 
I aud Mr. Hunt are [)erfectly agreed to join with the 
other proprietors of the town of Boonville to make 
a donation of a lot of ground in the same town of Robert 
Wallace, Esq., as a compensation for the trouble and 
expense w liidi lie lias been to aid in having the seat (tf 
justice tixed at that place, relying entirely on your dis- 
cretion and esteem. 1 beg leave to iufoi'ui you that 1 
have thought be useful in tilling a seat in the Senate 
of the U. S. If you are of the same opinion, 1 hope you 
will be so good as to use your influence to that purpose. 
1 hojie I shall have the phMsure to see you in tlic^ legis- 
hilui-e. I e.\j»ecl to be o])posed iu my ])reteusious by 
the Sjiauish land claimants aud their avssociates. My 
sole dependance rests upon those that pursue the inter- 
est of the couutrv in general. 1 am, &c., 

J. B. C. L. 



303 



St. Louis, April Ttb, 1821. 
Georj;e Tompkins, Atty. 

Dear Sir: — Your two letters have been received, the 
Ist dated 2Tth February last, the other 17th of March. 

Mr, Boonsfidd called and intimated a wish to undo 
the bar<;ain wliirh Mr. v^im}>smi Iuim made for him. Tliis 
induces me to suspect tliat the difficulties which he now 
makes do not arise from an opinion of the insufficiency 
of the title, but because ho is displeased with liis bai- 
liain under other considerations. 

I send you by (*(d. IJuckhait tlic oiiiiinal deeds of 
John E. Allen, and as it has not been recor«led you will 
be so j;ood as to have that done before you deliAcr it 
up either to Simpson or Roonisfield. You will also bt: 
so good to take a receipt for tlie same. 

I send y(ni also by the same luuid a certified exempli- 
tication of the letters of adminiNti ation which you de- 
mand. I enclose you likewise a note under seal from 
the 3d, Joseph Simpson for |325 for the use and benefit 
of the representatives of C. Lucas, deceased, which is 
now due, and which you will be pleased to collect a»s 
soon as possible. I am, 

Respectfully, &c.. 



St. Louis, May 1st, 1822. 
Geo. T(jmpkins, 

Dear Sir: — Having received, directly and indirectly, 
great encouragement to become candidate for Congress 
since I had tlie pleasure of seeing you last, I have strong 
reasons to believe that I should be acceptable as such 
t(/ a majority of the people, nevertheless I have no pri- 
vate object ill view, not even the expectation of better- 
ing my political standing. I will not stand a poll un- 

304 



less the stroniiest probabilities of success are on my 
side. 1 therefore beg leave to request 3^011 to tell me 
frankly your opinion or your nuess whether it be near 
or distant of the support which I may expect within the 
county wliere you reside. 

The oj)inion which you and other friends to whom 1 
have math' similar applications, will impart to me on 
thi.s subject will have i;reat weight on my futuie deter- 
mination. You are, no doubt, aware that my sole de- 
pendancr for su]>port would be on those who have no 
interest variant from that of the ])ublic. 

The favor of your answer is ex])ected as soon ais may 
be convenient. I should have been more explicit with 
3'ou when I was at Franklin if my views had been as 
distinct a.s they are now. I also felt a great delicacy 
on tho <»((asion, and even at present I beg of you to 
understand that whatever 3'our opinion may be, I ishali 
consider it as being entirely distinct and independent 
of your own clioice. Dear sir, I am, 

Respectfully, &c., • 



■ St. Louis, Augt., 1823. 
( teo. Tompkins, 

(Letter requesting him to inform me of what has been 
the dividend obtained for the b(Mietit of C. Lucas out 
of the Cvstate of Assa Morgan and also to notify Patten 
and (^leveland that having paid for one subscription, I 
stop taking their paper, not because I am displeased, 
but because 1 am n(H-eSisitated to curtail expenses, &c.) 

Respectfully, 



305 



St. Louis, Jany. 11th, 1826. 
John Vaugel, 

(Inform him that Coles paid no money to me. White 
Butcher in possession of the house. Shattle prove part- 
nership with Fry in both houses. Spalding says it 
could not be proven that Shattle had in hand any part- 
nership property. Wish to liave two laborers. Glad 
and thankful if Yaugel can procure them. They ought 
to come not later than 1st of April. The sooner the 
better. 



Joseph W^alton. 

(Answer to about renting farm where Williard now 
lives.) 



Feby. 7th, 1826. 
Isaac Van Nortt, 

(Answer to, concerning a young lawyer wishing to 

have opinion as to best place to locate himself south 

of this. Advise him to go to Arkansas, &c.) 



St. Louis, September 4th, 1818. 
James Vanuxem, 

Dear Sir: — Your favor of the 30th of June has come 
to hand some days past by which you inform me that a 
^Ir. Wm. Robinson paid Mr. Clark of the firm of Van- 
uxem and Claik, |2T2.72, which Mr. Barnet, consul at 
Paris, desired him to pay to you fs. 1500 which he re- 
ceived from Mr. Laurent of Kouen for my account. In 
pursuance of this iuformation I have drawn on Van- 
uxem and Chirk of Philadelphia in favor of Kerr & Bell 
for the sum of two hundred and seventy-two dollars, by 
my letter of exchange, -dated St. Louis, Augt. 22d, 1818. 

306 



Owiuj; to an extreme pressure of public business I have 
delayed longer to write than I did wish. I should have 
been very hajjpy to see you at Morisville. It was late 
in the eveniuii when Mi'. DuitoixM'an informed me that 
he had vseen you the same day. 1 had then made my 
arrangements to leave Philadelphia early next morn- 
ing. 

I repeat you my thanks for the trouble you are at on 
my account. I am, dear sir, 

Respectfully, &c., 

J. B. C. L. 
James Vanuxem, Evsq. 



St. Louis, September 13th, 1817. 
General Walton, 

(Letter to, thanking him for liis politeness to Charles; 
introducing James and requesting him to advise him in 
the purchase of a horse. 

Informing liim that probably T shall call next fall or 
winter at his house.) 



St. Louis, Feby. 3d, 1817. 
Thos. Wilson, 

Dear Sir: — I intended to write to you by one of my 
sons who left this place in the latter part of November 
last to go to visit Washington and some other eastern 
cities, but tlirough the hurry of his departure, my 
object has remained unaccomplislied until now. I 
regret to have missed the o[»itort unity of procuring 
him an inliodm tion to you. Probably you remem- 
ber to iiave seen Alexander McNear at Washing- 
ton about two years ago. He was so successful then as 
to be appointed register of the land office for the ter- 
ritory of Missouri. He had the policy when he left 

307 



Pennsvlyania about two years ap,o to leave also behind 
bis federal character, and make his appearance in this 
territorT as a zealous democratic republican, but if he 
has not preserved consistency in politics, he is still the 
same as to his intolerant spirit and tyrannical dispo- 
sition. He has been at this hist election here as much 
intrijiuinp:, boistrous and overbearing as he ever was 
formerly at Lake Erie. It is singular, nay it is to be re- 
gretted that such a federal bully, unqualified under 
every other respect for the office he holds has been im- 
posed upon the government, whilst we have worthy and 
meritorious characters unemployed, probably several of 
whom would feel gratified and benefitted in having such 
a situation. 

I have written sometime ago to Mr. Josiah Meigs the 
commissioner of the general land office, and among 
other things I have given him a hint of the indecorous 
interference of Mr. McNear at the last election for this 
territory-, and taken the liberty of referring him to you 
for more particulars concerning the federal bullying 
character of 3Ir. McNear when he used to live in your 
part of the country. It is necessary, in my opinion, 
that his true character be known in Washington. It 
would be still much better had it been known sooner. 
I hope you will do me the justice to believe that I know 
loo well my situation to be any way active in matters 
concerning elections. I have even forborne voting. I 
rode out in the country on the day of last election and 
was the whole day absent several miles distance. 

I presume you have decided before this time on the 
disputed election between Messrs. Scott and Easton. I 
am well satisfied that had the underlings of the gover- 
nor let the people act for themselves, Mr. Easton would 
have had a majority of several hundred. 

308 



I make no doubt but that j^reat efforts aro makinp; to 
prfXMiro the passni^c of an act in Coinji7*ess in favor of 
the fhiinus remaining!, nncontirnied for hind situate in 
the territory of Missouri. I remember that you asked 
my opinion about the merits of a bill on the vsame sub- 
ject that ori«;inated in the House of Kepresentatives 
whilist I was last at Washington, and which was after 
my departure generally postponed in the Senate. It 
wa.s then of no use to give it for at that time the bill 
was passed. If any bill on the same subject has been 
reported this year, it is presumable that it pursues the 
same prineipleis; in this ease nothinj> can be more preju- 
diciable, nay, more ruinous. I could not give you the 
reasons of my opinion on this subject without entering 
into details which could not hud room here. Let me 
only observe you that the act of congress for the final 
adjustment of land titles in the state of Louisiana and 
the territory of Missouri, dated April 12th, 1814. has 
departed from the fundamental principles governing all 
acts heretofore passed on thai subject, the first of which 
is in 1804; the last in 1812. That this innovation vir- 
tuallj' covers all antidating and fraud, that it operates 
as a wedge to introduce the residue of claims uncon- 
firmed and produces over-reaching effects. It impairs 
materially the right to the domain acquired from the 
French government by the United States which the 
treaty of Paris declares to be in the same extent and 
such as it existed at the date of the treaty of St. Ilde- 
fonso. The interest of claimants to land here has been 
much extended beyond its former limits by a multi- 
plicity of sub-division^ and transfers. Its force and 
weight has more than proi)ortionately increased. I live 



309 



in the middle of them, this eircnmstanee ur«5es me to re- 
quest you to consider this communication as confiden- 
tial. 

Respectfully yours, 

J. B. C. L. 



St. Louis, March Gth, 1826. 
Wm. Wirt, 

Sir: — L<^st a printed isketch of an argument which I 
have delivered before the District Court of the U. S. 
for the state of Missouri in the case of Antoine Soulard 
vs. the U. S., should ha^ e been miscarried, I enclose yon 
another copy. To the reasons stated in the preface 
thereof for taking part in that argument I shall merely 
add that as neither my father nor myself bled or suffered 
for the attainment of tlie independence of the U. S. it 
is but just that 1 should make up the deficiency of 
desert on that score by using every endeavor to serve 
the country and Sixve me as well as my posterity from 
the reproach of being iutruder-s or political parasites in 
the American family. 

Considering that the case now before the Supreme 
Court is not only important in itself, but involves prin- 
ciples common to almost all other Spanish claims, I 
have thought it might be of some utility to submit to 
you a few additional remarks. 

The counsel of Antoine Soulard having assumed that 
the concession of his client is recognized and protected 
as entitled to confirmation at least to the extent of a 
league square by the laws of Congress heretofore made 
on the subject of such titles, I have committed an error 
at the bottom of the 22d page of my argument in the fol- 
lowing. I know of no acts of Congress on the subject 
of French or Spanish land claims that do not refer to 

310 



the laws of the governnient from which they are derived 
but the act of the 12th of April, 1814 althoiioh this act 
may dispense with vjirious requisites known to the 
Spanish laws. The 1st Section provides thus, that 
every person or persons or tlie leo-al representatives of 
any peiwon or persons chiiminjj; land in the state of 
Louisiana or the Ty. of ^lissouri, by virtue of an incom- 
plete French or Spanish grant or concession or any 
warrant or order of survey which was granted, «S:c., &c., 
or actually located or surveyed, Siv., «S:c., by a surveyor 
duly autJu)rized by the government making vsuch a 
grant, such persons shall be, and they are hereby con- 
firmed in their claims. Admitting for the sake of argu- 
ment, tiiat the act just quoted, may operate upon claims 
other than those which have been reported by the gov- 
ernment and finally confirmed by Congress, — yet it can- 
not apply to the present case, as it has been made out 
in my argument Simon Trudeon had not the power to 
issue a concession for any «iuMntity of land and if he had 
it could not exceed the quantity mentioned in Gen. 
O'Reilly's regulations which was limited to six or eight 
arpens by forty. The word, incomplete Spanish grant, 
lose as they may appear to have a definite meaning, it 
cannot be a Spanish grant unless it is issued by the 
proper Spanish officer or otherwise an officer legally 
authorized for that purpose, it must necessarily have 
a legal incipiency. It must have been surveyed by a 
surveyor <luly authorized by the govornmeut in which 
the right of domain was vested. This right was in the 
French government from the date of the treaty of St. 
Ildephonso, 1st October, 1800, for although the cession 
of Louisiana by Spain to France depended upon a con- 
dition precedent, to-wit, tlie investitive by France of 
the Dutchy of Parma to a Spanish prince, yet as soon 

311 



as the condition was complied with, the right of France 
had a coniniencement from the date of the treaty, and 
the king- of Spain ceased from tliat time to have any 
power over tlie domain and liehl the sovereignty and 
the right of proprietor of the ro^al domains. Being dis- 
tinct, the sovereignty might be exercised without inter- 
ference Avitli the right of domain. In fact the king of 
Spain couhl not dispose of th(^ doiiiaiii without impair- 
ing the contract or treaty of St. Ihlephonso. Of course 
all the powers of his officers appointed for the disposal 
of the domains by the concesvsion surveyor otherwise 
had ceased and determined from the date of the treaty 
and any disposal of the domain by such officers after 
that date were mere nullities. As tlie act of Congress 
only provides for contirmation and not for donation 
there must necessarily be a legal incipient to confirm 
by. The alleged concession of Soulard is wanting that 
requisite, hence his case is not within the provision of 
the act before cited. 

If it should be decided that the Spanish registry is not 
a requisite to authenticate concessions, the surviving 
Spanish eommission^i*s might now win as many con- 
cessions as they please. I firmly believe that there are 
reams of it already' made. The flood gates for fraud 
would be wide open. There would be no guess where 
it might stop. As tlie act giving jurisdiction to the 
District (?ourt over these chiims dispenses with the 
requisites of the preceding acts of Congress, viz: that 
notice of every French or Spanish claim shall be entered 
within a given time in the office of the recorder of land 
titles, together with the written evidence of the same, 
and that no evidence shall be admitted in any court of 
law of any claim which shall not be thus recorded. 



312 



Altlioiiiifh tlio dociimonts lioro onrlosod cannot b(' ex- 
hibited in the cJisc of Antoinc Souhird now before the 
Supreme Court, I nevertludess have thought it expe- 
dient to transmit them to you. 

The document marked "A" goes to invalidate the 
deposition of Soidard as to the existence and h)ss of a 
concession in his favor for 10000 arpens. There cannot 
possibly be any state secrets in the disposal of the king's 
domain, and the refusal of Soulard to answer questionvs 
on such matter is unjust ihable and raises the strongest 
presumption of fraud. 

The document marked '^B'' shows that little reliance 
is to be placed in the registered arpentage kept by the 
surveyor Soulard. The two concessions on which the 
survey is predicated give the Mississippi as boundary 
on the east and <»n tiie west the road of Carondelet. 
The erasure marked by the dotted line was the place 
where the road went. The new line removes the road 
further west. N. B. the surveyor Soulard has come 
into possession of that tract of land in the right of his 
wife. The glueing of a leaf, &c., are all circumstances 
strongly indicating fraud. 

The document "C presents two instances of the con- 
ditions of concessions and the actual reunion of land to 
the domain. For want of com]diance with conditions 
and of regranting the same, it also shows the usage or 
practice of regranting still continued as late as 1793. 
What had been granted in 1780 to another is made by 
Trudeon. The very same commandant who has issued 
the alleges! concession in favor of Soulard. 

The document "D" ])re«<('nts nunu'ious instances of 
reunion made to the domain of land tirst granted and re- 
granting the same for want of compliance with con- 
ditions, and also the greatest quantity of land contained 

313 



ill uraiits from 17(10 to 1780 whicli establishes a iisaoe 
and practice. Conform with the ie<;nlations of O'Keill}', 
I mean as to quantity and conditions. 

Document "E'' contains the reouhitions of 0'Reill^^ 
They are probably in your poissession, if not, at any rate, 
this will satisfy you that it is all important to obtain a 
printed copy of it. I remember that in the year 1804 
the members of Coii«;ress were furni^shed, amoiiii other 
Spanish documents, with a printed copy of the same. 
I had one wliich some land claimant in Missouri has 
borrowed and ncnei- returned. 

The fore^oini; documentt^ mij;lit have been procured in 
due time to be used at the trial of the case before the 
district court if ordinary search and diligence had been 
used. As to m(\ I was unexpectedly invited to speak 
on the case when it was called before the. court. The 
land claimantis and their advisors are influential. The 
love of local popularity is the bane of republics. It re- 
quires an extraordinary share of devotion to the public 
weal to withstand its charms. 

Respectfully, &c., 



St. Louis, 11th Sept., 1818. 
Mr. Samuel Zadig, 

In compliance with the request of Mr. Samuel Zadig 
to have from me before he leaves this part of the 
country a statement of the most prominent parts of the 
testimony taken before me the presiding judge of the 
superior court of the territory of Missouri for the pur- 
pose of ascertaining whether Mr. Zadig who had been 
arrested by a warrant of Judge Bent some time last 
July ujjon the charge of being accessor}^ to larceny, 
should be committed or discharged. I declare that hav- 

314 



in<;- oxamiued Turner V. Oibbs the pciisou on whose 
deposition the said warrant was predicated, the said 
(Jibbs wlio appeared to be a yonn<»- man <>f about 20 
years of a.uc k la ted without any appearance of un- 
easiness remorse or shame a full history of a theft 
which he had lately committed in a store at St. Louis 
with circumstances that indicated that he was a per- 
fect adept as a thief. A certain Mr. Lee, a disinterested 
witness, was examined after, who contradicted an im- 
portant part of the testimony of (Jibbs which the said 
Gibbs on cross-examination had repeatedly asserted. 
It appeared from the testimony of (iibbs taken in the 
fore part of the day, that Mr. Zadi<; was in St. Louis 
when he committed the theft and assisted him in cou- 
cealinj; a part of the i>r(»perty stolen. It was after- 
ward proven by a resix'ctable witness that Mr. Zadip; 
had crossed the Mississippi ou the seventh of July in the 
morning to make surveys in the Illinois Territory and 
did return to St. Louis ten days after. This last fact 
was confirmed by (Jibbs on a second examination who 
declared at the same time that he had eommitted the 
theft on the seventh in the evening;. Thus an alibi 
was established in behalf of Mr. Zadii-. The testi- 
mony of (Jibbs havinu thus been contradicted by that 
of Mr. Lee, and bein<; also at variance with itself, inde- 
pendent of the consideration of Gibbs extreme turpi- 
tude, I considered his testimony to be destitute of any 
le.nal force or effect and accordin<»ly dischariied Mr. 
Zadiii from arrest. I considered Mr. Zadi.o- as a man 
much injurwl, perhaps ])ersecuted. He had been in- 
troduced and particulaily recommended to me at the 
city of Washington by a person of respectability, as a 
man of honor and liberal information. I continued to 
view him as such on further acquaintance. His char- 



315 



acter and vstandiDg- has not in the least been impaired 
in any mind by this unfortunate occurrence. 

J. B. C. L. 



Saml. Zadio-, Certiticate. 

This is to certify that having been acquainted with 
Mr. Samuel Zadi<; for five or six months, both at the 
citj^ of A\'ashin_nton, where he was particularly recom- 
mended to me by a person of respectability, as well as 
at St. Louis, his conduct' has always been so far as I 
know, that of a gentleman. 

St. Louis, 11th Sept., 1818. 

J. B. C. L. 



Four letters enclosing petitions against changing 
laws to try the validity of titles to land claimed under 
French and Si>anish concessions, dated sometime in 

November, directed to Robt. P. Clark, Geo , 

Stephen Glass Cook, David Jones. 



Since, Two letters not enclosing petition on subject 
of election to senate. Directed to Geo. F. Bettinger, 
Elisha Doctor Bettis. 



St. Louis, November 6th, 1826. 
(Circular or Petition to prevent, &c.) 
Dear Sir: — The intended memorial here enclosed will 
probably appear to you wanting brevity. I have en- 
deavored to compress the matter in as few words as 
possible, but there has been so much imposition prac- 
ticed upon both houses of Congress at different periods, 
that no less could be said to convince them of the neces- 

316 



sity to be uiiaidHd jioiunst anv cliaiiiio in the present 
le<»isUiti()n touceruiiiii tiie Fieiicli and Spanish hind 
(daims. 

I hope that the j-oo^l people of your county will be 
alive to the true interest and that the memorial will be 
oenerally subscribed. Should they not understand 
sut1i('i(Milly the whoh' subject, you will, 1 am pt-rsuaded, 
be able to ^ive them the necesisary exphuiations. Tliere 
may be vsome facts whicdi are not known to. you. All I 
can say is that there is nothiu«> inaccurately stated. 
That I drafted the memorial willi (he sole intention of 
benefitting tlie public, and that 1 make myself respon- 
sible for the trutli and correctness of all it.s contents. 
Permit me to sug.uest that after a competent number 
of signers Avill be procured, the memorial ought to be 
transmitted to Senator Barton. He is the chairman of 
the committee on i>ublic lands and I know he is fully 
disposed to promote the object of the memorial. Mr. 
Benton has taken with him when he left St. Louis a 
few day.s since, a petition fnnn sundry land claimants 
residing near or about St. Louis, to be presented to the 
president of the U. S. as related in the memorial his 
former report to the senate against the mennuial of the 
general assembly of ^lissouri, together with his sub- 
sequent conduct in the senate, shows evidently that he 
makes tlie interest of the jteople of Missouri in general, 
subservient to that of the Spanish land claimants. 

This petition was most i)robably put in train by Mr. 
Benton as lie was their counsel and agent before he was 
in the senate, and as he owes his seat cliietiy to the 
inllnence of land claimants, his acts in the Senate show 
that he is still their faithful agent. 

I am respectfully, 



317 



St. Louis, Nov. 23rd, 1826. 
Dear Sir: — You are so well acquainted with tl:e iu- 
terest of the State in general and iJarticularly with the 
local circumstances of the country you represent, that 
I hope you will be fully saHsfied of the propriety of cir- 
culatino for subscription anion*;' your constituents the 
draujiht of petition here enclosed. The facts it con- 
tains are notorious and cannot be denied, at any rate 
they are perfectly known to nie. I make m^-self answer- 
able fdi (heir accuracy. Neither Mr. Bent(m nor liis 
friends liavc ever atteni])ted to- justify the report he 
made of a bill contrary to the object of the resolution of 
the leoislatur»^ referred in the enclosed petition. There 
is no other way to account for it, but that Mr. Benton 
preferred the interest of the French and Spanish land 
claimants to those of the state in "eneral. If no other 
charge had been exhibited or proven against Mr. Ben- 
ton, this one would be amply sufficient to disqualify 
him to represent the state in the S'^nate. He was the 
agent and counsel of the French and Spanish land 
claimants before he was elected to the Senate. It was 
then generally understood that he had promise of con- 
tingent fees in land to a great amount. It is certain 
that the land claimants gave him all their support to 
have him elected to the Senate. His subserviency to 
their interest in the instance before alluded to strongly 
indicates that he is still their agent, though p<'rhaps 
secretly. Permit now to observe to you that it is high 
time to have a senator independent of the land claim- 
ants. ^Ir. Sc(ttt is avowedly a land claimant and has 
been always devoted to the service of his friends the 
other land claimants. He supported the bill which was 
passed in the house of representatives during last ses- 
sion, for confirming a claim to land to the heiiis of 



318 



Vallic. It is supposed that he has an interest in that 
elaim. H. Gyer is at this very day the counsel of a 
laroe number of land ehiiniants. Major Biddh', another 
l)retender to a seat in tlie Senate is the son-in law of 
John Mnllan[)hy u ho iis a land elaimant to a larj^e 
amount. Indeed Mullanphy miiiht as \v<'ll be voted in. 
Vou aie hap])ily sitnat<Ml now for the means of com- 
munication of information and of sentiments. I hope 
there will be a correspondinj* diis])ositi(m amonji all the 
members well acquainted with the true character of 
Mr, Benton. To sacrifice ixMsonal jnedilections and 
unite in favor of some fit person in point of abilities 
and unexceptionable in point of character, and if pos- 
sible, let it be one inde])endent of the land claimants. 
Col. Reeves mis>ht be safely selected as such. If, how- 
ever, you could not ol)tain all yon wish; it seems to me 
that either Scott, Biddle or Gyer would be mmh less 
objectionable than Benton. I am, 

Respectfully, &c., 



January 4th, 1827. 
Sir: — The wily and active agents of the Spanish land 
claimants in the state of Missouri having exhausted 
eveiy possible means in ('on<»ress t(» avoid a judicial in- 
vcstiuation of the land claims, have jit last advis<'d the 
claimants to ai)ply to the president of the V. S. for a 
recommendation of their claiuK^ (o ('oni»ress in order, 
im <loiibt. t(t impose u\nm tin lejii^^lature from a quar- 
tei' not at all susi)ected. A petitiori for that pnrj)ose has 
been siiiiK'd and addressed by tlic land chiimants to the 
))resident, and it is, T presume, in consequence of it 
that the president has made a particular recommenda- 
tion in his late messajj;e for the security of land titles 
derived from the governments of the French and 

310 



Spanish nations. Had the president thouj^ht at that 
time of the existence of the act of the 26th of May, 1824, 
entitled "An Act Enabling the Claimants to Land 
\Vitliin tlip Limits of the State of Missouri and Tv. of 
Arkan.sas to Institute Proceedings to Try the A'alidity 
of Their Claims", he would, certainly, have been satis- 
fied that nothing further need to be done by Congress 
on that score; that the land claimants have now a 
judicial tribunal in Missouri open and competent to try 
tiip validity of tlicir titles in due course of law. wliicli 
is th(^ highest security the commissioners of the U. S. 
can give to citizens where claims to right or titles are 
disputed or ccuitroverted. Fi-om tliese it clearly ap- 
pears that the recommendation of the prcssident on the 
occasion before alluded to is a mere surplusage. T am 
aware that the friends and agents of the land claimants 
in Congress will make use of this recommendation as a 
pretense to change, if possible, the Dresent course of 
legislation, for the laud claims are of such a character 
that they cannot stand the test of judicial investi- 
gation. A new effort will be made this session to 
have these claims shifted from a court of law to a 
Board of Commissioners, where the proceedings may be 
had ex parte an<l the laws of evidence may be dispensed 
with as heretofore. Having endured so much perse- 
cution as land c(tmniissi<uier whilst I endeavored to save 
the IT, S. from the grossest imposition, I now feel a 
double interest in seeing the T^. S. be not at last tricked 
out of millions of acres of the best land and that my 
labor he not unproductive of ])ubli<' beuetit. 

F(U' further information I beg leave to refer you to the 
enclosed draught of petition that is now circulating for 
subscribers, or perhaps has already been transmitted 
to some members of Congress to be presented. 



320 



The foregoing is a copy of letter with small varia- 
ti(»iis written to Nathaniel Maison, Wm. Markvs, Mr. 
Stevenson. Pennsylvania Mahlon Diclvenson. The same 
written -lanuary IS to lOdward Everet, Daniel Webvster, 
Thomas \Vliii)i)h'. 'I'liomas Newton, Willis Alston, John 
\V. Campbell. 



January 21st, 1820. 
Knfus King, 

(Same as to P. B. Barbour, of the 15th January, 1820.) 



January 20th, 1820. 
Wm. Hendricks, 

(Same as to H. Southard, dated January 15th, 1820.) 



January 20th, 1820. 
Wm. r. .Maeklay, 

(Same as to H. Southard of the 15th inst.) 



January 20th, 1820. 
Mahlon Dickerson, 

(Same as to 11. Southard of the 15th January, 1820.) 



January 20th, 1820. 
John Sargeant, 

(Same as to II. Southard of the same date. 

321 



Copy of Draft No. 9581. 
Sir: — At sijiht pay to R. Smith, Esq., att3\ or order, 
three himdreil doHars value received. 

(Sig.) TH(3S. T. TUCKER, 

Treas. Un. States. 
To Jno. Dales, Cash., 

Bank of Miss., St. Louis. 



New Madrid certificate of the Recorder for 640 acres 
of land in the name of Benjamin Pattervson, Senior, (No. 
338) for the sum of 2560 Dollars, conveyed to C. Fisher 
by Col. Ashley,, his Atty., on the 13 of Nov. 1819. 
Obligation to return the money with interest in case 
the title proves bad. 



(Draft to B. Pratt, January 1st, 1819.) 
For 300 dollars, being part satisfaction for the draft 
for 600 dollare, which was protested. 



Same date letter of advice to Cashier Bank U. S. 



(Letter to W. Lowndes, dated 12th Dec, 1819.) 

(The same as the letter to Mr. Rhea above copied, 

with the exception of the four first lines, and the last 

line. 

(Sig.) JNO. B. C. LUCAS. 



(Letter to H. Mason, dated Dec. 17, 1819.) 

Substantially the same as the one to John Rhea, 

dated 12 December, 1819. 

(Sig.) JNO. B. C. LUCAS. 

322 



St. Louis, May 1st, 1822. 
(ii((^ Dwi.nht, Eisq., Tlios. K()(l<;<M's, Esq., 

Robert Wallace, Ksi\., (ico. Tciielt, Es<i., 
(leo. Bucklicait, E.s<|., Capt. Daniel Monroe. 

To all the fVicooinj;', letter of same tenor and date afc« 
the iiiiniediatel.v preceding to (Jeo. Tinnpkius. 



May 8th, 1820. 
Sent to Walter Lawrie and Kobert INFoore, papers con- 
taininjn rciiini of convention election piece, signed Fair 
Play, kc, &€. 



February 4th, 1820. 
Sent on(^ Missouri r;az<'tte of second of February, 
1820, containing Carondelet letter and answer to it, to 
Robt. Moore, John Rhea, 

Wm. Hendriclv, Samuel W. Dana, 

John Randoli)h, Mahlon Dickerson, 

Marcuvs Morton, Rufus King. 

Wm. Lowndes, 



(Letter from Rite. Smith to Cash. B. U. S.) 
Off. Dis. & Deposits, 

Wash., Oct. 5, 1819. 
Hon. J. B. C. L. 

I have the honor to enclose a Treasury Draft for |300 
on the Bank of Miss, in payment of your last (juarter 
salary. R. SMITH, 

Cashier. 

(Ix^tter of advice to Cashier Bank U. S.) 

Nov. 17, 1819. 
Sir: — I have drawn u])on the cashier of the Bank of 
the U. S. by draft of this day, in favor of Bernard l*ratt, 

323 



for the sum of three hundred dollars in pursuance of the 
information of Mr. Uitchard Smith, my agent at the city 
of Washington, that he liad placed the same sum to my 
credit at the Bank of the U. States. 

I am sir, &c., 

JNO. B. C. LUCAS. 



St. Louis, November 10th. 1817. 
Jonathan Robei'ts, 

(Letter of isame purport a^s preceding. Somewhat less 
full to Jonatlian Koberts.) 



(Same date.) 
Nath. Macon, 

(Same subject as the preceding to Leacock. Chamber- 
lain not mentioned.) 



(Same date.) 
Joseph Meigs, 

(Nothing said but of my late son Charles and Cham- 
berlain.) 



(Same date.) 
John C. Calhoun, 

(Nothing but about my late son Charles and laud 
business.) 



November 10th, 1817. 
Jason Chamberlain, 

(Inform him that I have r<'Comnieuded him. Name 
the persons that his friends from Vermont co-operate.) 

321 



INDEX. 



Adams, j yuincy 

62. 63, 65, 70, 75, 77 

Alcorn, James 83 

Adrian, James H 83 

Barton, Joshua 8, 42, 43 

Barton, David 84, 86, 87 

Barbour, Philip B 88 

Barbour, James, Sec}', of War 96 

Beatty, Jos 98 

Brown, George 98 

Chamberlin, Jason 18 

Carol, Genl. Wm..... 25 

Calhoun, Hon. J. C 

57, 98, 99. 117 

Clark. Wm 100. 101 

Clark, Robt. P 101 

Carrall, Thomas 102 

Cook, Hon. Daniel P 

103, 104. 105 

Cozens. H 105 

Crawford, Wm. H 

... 33, 106, 107. 108. 110, 127 

Dickerson, Mahlon 

35, 40, 59, 110 

luistis, Wm 113 

Edwards, Merrion 114 

Edwards, Nenian 114 

English, Thomas 115 

Farrally, Patrick 115 

Gallatin, Albert 54, 55, 116 

Gales & Seaton 117 

Glassock, Esq 120 

Graham, Hon. Geo 121, 

124, 126, 127, 129. 132. 133. 136 

Hayden. J K 137 



PAGE. 

Holmes, Da\-id 138 

Hunt, Theodore 

138, 139, 141, 142, 144, 145, 146 

Ingham, Samuel D 113 

Johnson, David 148 

Johnson, Richard M 148 

king, Ruffus...48. 113. 148. 151 

Leacock, Abner 22 

Lowndes. Wm . . 155. 156, 158, 159 

Lowrie, Walter 37, 164 

Lucas, Wm.. 3, 5,7, 10, 11, 14, 

15,16,21,27,41,52,143, 167. 171 

Lucas, Jaines H 192 

Lucas Adrian 194, 195 

James Monroe 127 

Thomas Newton 147 

Lucas, Charles 26 

Lucas, J. J 12, 13, 195 

Macon, Nathaniel 198, 199 

Meigs, Josyah 202, 204 

Morrow, Jeremiah 205 

Moore, Hon. Robt 

28, 213, 217. 218. 220. 221 

Patterson. Robt 222 

Penrose, Charles 223 

Pentecost, Joseph 223 

Philipson, Joseph 224 

Pleasant, John H 60 

Post, Justus 225 

Pratt," B 225 

Quarles, Doctor 9 

Randolph, John 227, 236 

Rector, Elias 239 

Reeves, Benjamin H 239 

Rhea, Hon. John 35, 241 



Jli/V 26 19C5 



PAGE. 

Riddle, James 244 

Roberts, Johnathan .... 245, 248 

Rodney, Cesar 253 

Ross, James 253 

Rush, Richard 255, 261 

Russel, James 263 

Rutter, Edmund 264. 265 

Simpson, Jas. Rankin 267 

Smith, John Colton 268 

Smith, R 269 

Smith, Gcnl. Samuel 270 

Southard, Hon. Henrv 273 



Taylor, Hon. J. Wm.. . . 276, 
277, 279, 281, 283, 286, 289, 

291. 292, 293 

Toinkins. George 298 

Vaugel. John 306 

Van Nortt, Isaac 306 

Vanuxem. James 306 

Walton, General 306 

Wilson, Thos 307 

Wirt, Wm 310 

Zadig, Samuel 314 

Miscellaneous 321 



►- Ja '08 



u 



LETTERS 

OF 

HON. J. B. C. LUCAS 

FROM 1815 TO 1836. 



